Onwards Till Dawn (Original)
by XxZuiliu
Summary: What would you be willing to give for a second chance to set things right? (And even though this is far from being simply her second chance, lifetime over lifetime over lifetime... that doesn't mean she will ever stop trying.) ReincarnationOC/Time Loop [Collaboration with XxZuiyun][REWRITTEN]
1. 01: 1 Back to the Beginning

_Ashes._

_Still warm, slightly smoking, thin tendrils of gray curling into the air. Small flickers of red flames that haven't quite died out yet. Approximately three feet away, a jagged piece of wood sticking out of the ground -five grooves across, three splinters peeling on the left and a crooked slash on the right. Courtesy of a nice set of metal gauntlets, no doubt. A few embers glow brightly between the cracks, burning and not-quite-burning all at once._

_Inhale, exhale. _

_Sulfur and carbon monoxide and god-knows-what-else mixed together in the toxic air._

_The familiar scene of destruction is sickening -how many times has it been already? How many times of waking up to these exact same ruins, each time hoping it to be the last?_

_And how many times waking up to it _again?

_It was always the same goddamned outcome. _

_Every. _

_Single. _

_Time._

…

_I crack open an eye as __a breeze brushed past, scattering a thousand and a million red sparks into the evening's blood-streaked sky._

_It... hurts._

_I'm not just referring to the physical pain here -it's not just the feeling of having splintered wood embedded so deeply in your back that it always aches when it rains, not just the feeling of glass shards biting into and permanently scarring your arms or that heavy framework of what used to be a set of sliding doors crushing your leg. There's also that ghostly echo of a clawed hand digging into your chest, ripping through flesh and bone alike with evident ease, reaching in and closing around your heart and _squeezing_-_

_I suck in a sharp, shuddering breath._

_Breathe._

_Inhale, exhale._

… _It hurts._

_A lot._

_And the pain isn't all from that fatal wound, either. _

_It's the _memories _-memories of friends and comrades and __family__ that I failed to save despite _knowing_ the trials to come. Knowing, but still helpless to save them from their doom._

_Again and again and _again_._

… _Oh gods, how __long__ has it been since then? How long has it been since the first time I had first failed _–_and continued f__ailing, time and time again, to __save__ them? Failing to save my _family? _Failing to save the people I cared for, because of being too weak, always_–_  
_

_(There's only so many times that you can live and laugh and fight with the same people before they begin to grow on you. There's only so many times that you can watch them die -again and again, right in front of your eyes, unable to do anything but look on helplessly- before you become determined to grow stronger in order to __save__ them, and suddenly it's not just because it's a task that's been forced upon you anymore. It's because these people who care for you and help you are_ _family._ Family._)__  
_

_It hurts. _

_It hurts inside much more than it does on the outside, so much that it's almost… unbearable.__  
_

_But I'd promised to myself that I'd bear it. _

_I'd sworn to myself that I'd bear the pain -no matter how many times it occurred, no matter how many times they wouldn't __remember what we'd shared and I had to start from the beginning again__, no matter how many times I had to repeat this ungodly pain all over again- because I _had_ to save them. __  
_

_Somehow._

_Someway.__  
_

… _Someday._

* * *

**Onwards Till Dawn**

_01: "Reset, Restart, Replay"_

* * *

[This is a collaboration project by XxZuiliu and XxZuiyun.]

* * *

Japan.

To be more precise, Namimori.

Part of me dreaded coming back to this place just as much as I looked forward to the moment. Namimori was where everything had truly started, after all. Of course, none of them would know, and none of them would ever see this town the way I did –I hated Namimori just as much as I loved it; and wasn't that a strange feeling to have about a place? Wasn't it such a strange feeling to feel for a place that brought back so many fond, nostalgic memories just as it did the bitter pain?

_Dilly-dally, shilly-shally._

… Maybe a small detour would be in order before I made my way to Tsuna's house? It had been awhile since I last saw Namimori good and whole, anyways, and surely there was no harm in wandering around the neighborhood for a bit.

_Over there –that's the park. Lambo wanted some grape soda from that vending machine, and we all ended up getting some kind of beverage that day. Mukuro was pissed when Fran gave him a pineapple-flavored one. Then we found out that the machine didn't have enough sodas to go around, and the scuffle that ensued became the stuff of legends in the Vongola rumor mill._

_There's that dress shop –I distinctly remember Kyoko and Haru dragging me along that one time when I'd been particularly depressed from another failure. That was the first time I'd seen them die before me, and that was when I truly realized the price of my failures. I'd only wore the dress once –the boys didn't seem to be able to reconcile the image of me in a girly dress with the image of me shouting down Squalo._

_And there, that's the barbeque place. Of course the food there doesn't match up to the sushi that Takeshi's dad makes, but Tsuna had suggested we eat barbeque that time, and Hayato threatened to blow up anyone who didn't agree. Lambo had disagreed anyways, wanting to go to the candy store down the street –then Ryohei saw a pair of boxing gloves on sale, and Chrome was running late, anyways– and we ended up eating instant ramen noodles again for lunch._

_The roof of Namimori's only aquarium. Nana had taken the kids out to play, and somehow the entire gang was tagging along… Mukuro decided to amuse himself by casting illusions on everyone and everything in the dark aquarium, and people were either scarred for life or discovered an inclination towards horror films. Kyoya thought it was too crowded, and went to the rooftop instead. I remembered going with him and trying to teach Hibird to sing a few lines from Phantom of the Opera, but the little bird only carried the tune of Namimori Middle's school song…_

_Ah. There's the school._

Unbidden, my feet came to a stop in front of Namimori Middle.

_The first time, I enrolled as a student here. Befriending Tsuna right away, right before all the madness started… helping him build confidence, being there in his life every step of the way, watching him gather his Guardians…_

A soft sigh escaped my lips.

Oh, what I wouldn't give to have those days back again. We were all so innocent back then… no.

That's not quite it, right? Now… they still are innocent, aren't they?

I'm the only one who's changed.

… It probably wasn't very healthy to get lost in memories like this, but… even if they no longer existed, even if the individuals I'd laughed and cried and fought and bled with were no longer here anymore… I didn't want to forget them. Any of them.

_A Tsuna who liked books and was smart, but was so shy to the point of blushing if anyone so much as stared at him for a second too long. A Tsuna who liked cooking and could make meals even better than Nana herself. A Tsuna who liked gardening, and had a green thumb that could make anything grow._

_There was also a Hayato who wasn't a brilliant pianist, but a violinist. A Hayato who liked reading cheesy romance novels, though he fervently denied any possession of such material. A Hayato who couldn't swim for his life, but dove into the lake without a second thought when Tsuna almost drowned on a Reborn-induced incident in a summer trip to the water's edge._

_I remember a Takeshi who chose soccer over baseball. A Takeshi who liked to fish on the weekends, a habit he never broke off until he was dragged into the 'mafia game' and spent every spare second training as much as he could. A Takeshi who hated milk, but would happily drink any combination of fruit juices. I think that Takeshi got along famously with Lambo._

_Lambo. A Lambo who liked cherries instead of grapes, and made a sport of spitting out the cherry pits at anyone who annoyed him –man, I lost track of how many times Reborn almost killed him just for that alone. And then there was a Lambo who liked drawing, who could throw poisoned markers with pinpoint accuracy. And also a Lambo who was scared of thunderstorms and cried much more easily, who was teased and bullied endlessly by a surprisingly aggressive I-pin._

_Ryohei. A Ryohei who practiced judo, not boxing. And then a Ryohei whose dream was to build the most extreme robot ever –now _that_ took some time to get used to. A Ryohei who liked collecting stamps, and gathered a gigantic collection with over 1000 stamps, each one holding a story of its own of how he'd acquired it._

_Mukuro, and Chrome. A Mukuro who liked classical music, and a Chrome who played the cello. A Mukuro who liked pineapples, and a Chrome who was fond of strawberries. A Mukuro who enjoyed watching the ocean tides, and a Chrome who wanted to run with the wind. Mukuro, and Chrome, who always ended up spending their lives together…_

_And Kyoya. Kyoya…_

My body moved on pure instinct.

Twisting to the side as I took a single step backwards, hand automatically rising to the sword at my hip- before letting it fall again, after my mind had finally processed just _who_ it was that had attacked me.

A familiar silver tonfa had shattered the ground where I stood less than a second ago.

"It's against Namimori's rules to trespass during school hours, herbivore."

Kyoya. Inexperienced, young, _alive._ Just as the others were.

_A Kyoya who liked drinking tea. A Kyoya who enjoyed napping under the afternoon sun. A Kyoya who liked to gaze at the wild clouds in the sky. A Kyoya who-_

… I'd lingered too long.

"Ah, sorry about that," I flashed a quick smile at the Disciplinary Head standing in front of me, inwardly berating myself. How could I have let myself get so distracted? "Um, I didn't mean to crowd here. I'll just get going now, ne?"

_A Kyoya lying on the ground, _defeated_, but still struggling to stand –even as the monster laughed, grinding its heel and crushing his throat._

The back of my neck prickled as I turned to leave.

Shifting to the side again, watching as the tonfa grazed the flaps of my jacket –I belatedly remembered a very important rule. No turning your back on Kyoya.

At least, not when it seems like he's in the mood for a fight.

Kyoya had liked fighting so much –correction, Kyoya _liked_ fighting, liked it so much that it was nigh impossible for him to _not_ seek out new opponents every day. Maybe it was in his blood? It wasn't just the thrill of battle that always had him seeking more of it –Kyoya liked _challenges._ He didn't just like fighting; he liked fighting _strong_ opponents.

… At the moment, I certainly qualified as a strong opponent.

Sadly.

"Violators of Namimori's rules will be bitten to death." A dangerous smirk curled on his lips and he darted forward, tonfas flashing.

Two steps back, I smoothly dodged the powerful swings. Lifting up a foot, let the sweep of his legs miss my ankle. Jump when he smashed the tonfas down, and twist when he aimed them at my torso.

Even at such a young age, Kyoya was much better than most hitmen –something I never failed to marvel at.

Duck under that blow, jump back. Spin, and let him hit that brick wall. Sorry, Mr. Wall.

_A Kyoya whose skull was crushed and his body mutilated, so much that it was only the presence of Hibird that allowed me to identify his body. _

Slide behind a lamppost, letting the tonfa crash against it instead.

_A Kyoya who was decapitated, his blood splattering everywhere. _

Slight stagger as I almost tripped, but I caught myself just in time to dodge another blow.

_A Kyoya who died as he had lived, fighting and taking down an entire legion of monsters with him._

"I don't suppose I could get back to you on this some other time?" I asked, doing my best to keep my tone light. A quick spin to the right, and a broken arm was successfully avoided.

Kyoya wasn't listening.

I truly did have far more pressing concerns at the moment. Like finding Reborn, and explaining to him what the hell a freelance assassin was doing in Namimori before he decided to shoot me in the back of the head. It wasn't a pleasant sensation, much as I understood his excessive paranoia in dealing with unknown elements, all part of his desire to keep his student safe.

"Hn." There was a gleam in Kyoya's eyes when I dodged another of his blows. Throughout the entire exchange, I'd only been dodging, moving just enough to let his attacks swing by harmlessly, but not making a single motion to draw the sword at my side. It was clear what he wanted me to do –adjusting his movements so that they were just a little stronger, a little faster, enough to pressure me into drawing my weapon-

I couldn't do it.

I didn't think I'd ever be able to raise my sword against them.

"Look, getting attacked for standing too long in front of a building is interesting and all-" I drawled, adding a trace of sarcasm into my words as I ducked again. "-but I really, really need to get going right now."

He's not _listening_.

_Kyoya, sometimes I really hate the fact that you're so _stubborn. _But… it's the one thing about you that never changes. I guess this is just part of who you are, huh?_

I dropped into a crouch, deliberately letting my hand grip the hilt of my sword, watching as his smirk widened in anticipation-

-and disappeared.

_Sorry, Kyoya, but I really don't feel like getting killed by Reborn again. I'm definitely going to find a way to get through this mess one way or another; a future that won't result in our deaths._

_That's a promise._

* * *

"… _Ne, Tsubaki?"_

"_Hm?"_

"_I know it sounds kinda weird, but… y'know, I always thought you looked kinda familiar from the first moment I saw you. It's not really Hyper Intuition or anything, but… sometimes, I can't help but wonder. Did I use to know you from somewhere else? Y'know, before Reborn came to Namimori and all?"_

_A small, sheepish laugh from the brunet whose heart was wider than the sky._

_I couldn't tell him._

"… _No. Stop imagining things, Tsuna. Although, if you wanted to profess your undying love for me, Kyoko will be very disappointed…"_

"_Ack! N-no, no! That's not what I meant! Tsubaki, what are you –Tsubaki! S-stop laughing at me!"_

…

"_Tsubaki?"_

…

"_E-eh? Tsubaki, did I say something wrong? Why are you crying?"_

…

"… _Tsubaki?"_

…

* * *

Deep breaths.

In, out.

It's not the first time doing this –but that doesn't make it hurt any less.

Looking up from where I was staring longingly at the cup of green tea, I forced a smile onto my face and bowed. The position was held long enough so that it was enough to signify proper deference and respect, but not so long as to show subservience –much as I considered myself a part of his Family already.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Vongola Decimo."

"Hiiie!" I sneaked a glance at him. _Tsuna. _There was a small blush on his cheeks –flustered embarrassment, nervous panic. This was a Tsuna who hadn't learned to be a Boss yet. "W- who are you? What in the world's going on?"

To his right, Hayato was frowning, pushing Tsuna behind him and immediately whipping out several sticks of dynamite, which he brandished at me.

"Stand back, Juudaime! She's an assassin!"

"_Hiiie!?"_

"An assassin who was let in through the front doors by Reborn," I tried not to let any of the fondness show in my smile –Hayato had always been protective of Tsuna; a trait that never, ever changed. "Gokudera, relax. I'm not here to kill anyone. Yet."

Probably shouldn't have amended that last sentence, but hey –it was the truth, and even though it was akin to twisting knives in my heart, it wouldn't do to act too familiar with them yet. For the sake of appearances, and for appeasing a certain hitman's suspicions.

"Stand down, Gokudera." I blinked in surprise, turning to look at Reborn. Speak of the devil. The baby-who-wasn't-really-a-baby took a sip of coffee from his cup before continuing, "I'm the one who called her here."

Now _that_ was a blatant lie. It was a testament to my self-control that I didn't react to his claim –not that I called him out on it, though.

On the other hand, I watched as the silver-haired bomber's jaw dropped. "She's an _assassin!"_

"So are you."

Hayato's mouth snapped shut with an audible click at that deadpan, and Takeshi laughed.

"Nice to meet you!" He smiled cheerily at me, "Are you part of the mafia game, too?"

Mafia game. Two innocuous little words, and I couldn't decide if I wanted to laugh or cry. Because this was so _Takeshi_, and-

Control.

Control yourself.

I settled on neither reaction.

"Yeah, I guess I am." I returned the easygoing smile, watching from the corner of my eyes as Hayato sputtered indignantly ("Game? _Game? _C'mon, you're a professional assassin, for crying out loud!"). "It's what I'm here for, after all."

"Ahh." Takeshi grinned, ever-oblivious. For the moment, that is. "So are you joining Tsuna's team, too?"

And here was the crux of the question.

Reborn would've looked at my profile the moment I set foot in Namimori. All things, considered, I was damn _good_ at my 'other' job –living so many lives that were all heavily intertwined with the mafia, I couldn't _not_ be good at fighting and killing. Working as an assassin in the scant few years before Reborn was assigned to tutor Tsuna was good for sharpening my skills, and getting used to fighting in a younger body again.

I needed to be as strong as I could to face the trials ahead.

"Nah, I'm just chasing a hit." Relaxed poise, even tone. Don't give Reborn any reason to believe that you're lying. "One of my contacts told me he'd be in Namimori soon, so I'm going to wait and ambush him."

Here I heard another of Tsuna's horrified 'hiiie!'s in the background.

"Although, I didn't know that Namimori was Vongola territory." I remarked dryly after my pause, allowing the brunet the chance to scrape together his tattered dignity, "Anyways, I already hashed it out with Reborn earlier; one favor from me to the person in charge of this place, and I'm allowed to hunt here."

I paused for a moment, before directing my gaze from Takeshi to Tsuna.

_Tsuna._

"So, Sawada." My voice was hard, blunt. Everything it should be from a freelance assassin thrown into my position, and everything _but_ what I was truly feeling at the moment. "My name is Tsubaki. I'm here to let you know I owe you a favor, and you're free to collect on it anytime."

It wasn't completely a lie.

I _was_ on a mission –some information broker who pissed off the wrong Mafioso was planning to escape to Namimori sometime this month, and I was to bring in his head. Owing favors just to complete a mission, though? Any decent bounty hunter or assassin would call me crazy.

Favors weren't dealt out lightly in the mafia world.

I'd stressed to Reborn earlier this afternoon that it was only because I had a reputation to uphold –no matter what mission it is, rest assured that it will always, _always _be completed; and how was I to know that the Vongola Decimo was being trained here?. It might've been because I was as young as Tsuna that he felt the reason was plausible. I was still a child, young and impressionable; it made sense that I'd still hold some notion of honor. It probably helped that I was one of the more talented up-and-coming assassins of the next generation, too.

Having freelance assassins who couldn't be tracked to any Famiglia owe you a favor or two was never a bad thing, after all.

Downright useful in the right situations, really.

"… Well… that's it." I stood up from my seat at the table, tea untouched. Which was a shame –Nana made the best tea, but any assassin with the faintest shred of self-preservation would know better than to drink anything offered to them by someone they technically didn't trust. "Don't be surprised if you see me wandering around town."

Halfway across the living room, ignoring the eyes boring holes into my back and breathing an inward sigh of relief that I'd made it through without botching this up (those results were never pretty), Reborn's voice suddenly sounded again.

"A good Boss always sees his guests to the door, Dame-Tsuna."

So here we were, standing on the porch awkwardly. Tsuna's eyes kept darting to the ground, and Hayato was scowling at me. Takeshi still had a friendly grin on his face, though, so that had to count for something, right?

_Tsuna is scared of me. He's scared of the assassin that suddenly barged into his life, even if I told him that I owe him a favor. He doesn't have an understanding of how the mafia operates –and even without a favor, I'd _never_ hurt him._

_He doesn't know that, though._

_But that's okay. He doesn't need to. None of them need to, really._

_I just need to keep them safe. That's the only thing that matters._

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Hi all.

So, a couple of points to hit.

First, I'm still not up for any heavy writing yet. I only have one week of break, and "Polaris" will be updated if I can spare the time to write like crazy on it, since most of my attention will be focused on this story right now. "Onwards Till Dawn" is a joint effort between me and my good friend, XxZuiyun, which means that there are **two authors **for this story. In other words: it's possible that we might argue over the direction of the story since we haven't agreed completely on the plotline yet, so there might be a few delays. Also, drafts will go back and forth between us before they're finally posted –don't be surprised if updates are late!

Second, in case it's not obvious yet: _**the OC in this story has been reborn multiple times into the KHR-verse**__._ So, OCTsubaki was given the task to save Tsuna &amp; co. (details of which will be unveiled later on in the story) but she kept failing, and as a result was reincarnated repeatedly to fix things. She's stuck in a loop; until she "saves" Tsuna &amp; co., she'll keep being reborn over and over again. Maybe she'll finally get lucky this time, yeah?

Third, we admit the influence of colbub's "My Heavenly Judgment." (Which I highly recommend to anyone looking for a SI OC fic to read in the KHR archives.) Other than the OC being reincarnated into KHR world after dying and given a mission to complete, I can't think of any similarities there are between our stories off the top of my head –so things are going to be different for the most part. Probably. I'd have to read the story again to make sure, but I'm pretty sure we're not ripping off any original plot from "My Heavenly Judgment."

Fourth, this fic will probably be containing some dark elements. The manga is mostly lighthearted and humorous, but it's the _mafia _–if you're looking for crack in this story, then look somewhere else. Consider yourselves warned.

Please remember to tell us what you think about this story! Constructive criticism is always appreciated and we will do our best to fix any errors that need fixing. Please don't hesitate to tell us what you see wrong and what improvements you think should be made to the writing. :D

**QUESTION:** What KHR character do you look forward most to seeing OCTsubaki interact with in the next chapter? Any reasons why?

Till next time,

XxZuiliu


	2. 01: 2 With Familiarity

_Heaven is but a simple step away, child. Would you take that extra step to reach for eternal Paradise?_

* * *

Morning.

The streets were quiet –soft sun barely illuminating the gray streets, faint hints of rosy dawn dancing across the frozen sky. It was early, much too early for anyone to be up and about yet.

The wind was cold.

"_Let's go back to Namimori when this is all over and watch the sunrise together."_

It felt… wrong, being the only one standing here. Lambo was supposed to be riling up Hayato again, and Takeshi would be laughing at the two of them as he was inevitably pulled into their scuffle. Ryohei would shout 'Extreme!' when the weapons came out, and join the fray –Mukuro would chuckle and Chrome would look on apprehensively at the spectacle. Kyoya would probably give a disdainful sniff and wander off to find a quiet place to take a nap before we disturbed his peace any more than we already did, and Tsuna-

"Ciaossu."

It's dangerous.

(These memories and ghosts that haunt my mind are already dangerous enough; let alone Reborn being suspicious of me and keeping an eye on my actions. Did he purposely wait until I was alone? The streets were deserted at the moment, so no one would notice if he decided to eliminate me here and now…)

Had I misjudged his reaction to my appearance again?

"Good morning, Reborn." I casually tilted my head back, forcing myself to meet his gaze steadily. Hoping against hope that these simple movements wouldn't betray my thoughts. I was a liar, a damn good one –but if anyone could call me out on my act, it would be Reborn. It was only his close scrutiny in the first place that I'd been forced to learn how to lie so well. "Has Sawada decided to call in on my favor so soon?"

I blinked, and suddenly the hitman was sitting on my shoulder, Leon's shape flickering and morphing into a sleek black gun. Almost involuntarily, I felt my body tense –but he wasn't raising the gun to my head, only holding it loosely in his hands.

There was a small smirk on his face.

… What was he planning?

"Rokudo Mukuro is in town."

Mukuro.

He had… he had escaped from Vendicare already?

"_Kufufu. Your concern for me is touching, but don't think I'll die so easily. Chrome is ahead –run along and lend her a hand, will you? I'll catch up later."_

I was careful to keep my expression bland and uncaring at the sudden news as I turned to face the road again, willing my feet to continue moving onwards one step after another, strolling down the empty sidewalk as if there was nothing wrong.

"Rokudo Mukuro… wasn't he taken by the Vindice a couple years back after that killing spree of his?" My voice remained nonchalant, and I let a careless, musing quality entering my tone. "Why are you telling me this? I'm not a bounty hunter."

Assassins, and bounty hunters. One waited for job requests to come to them, while the other actively sought out blacklisted criminals. I didn't choose the path of a bounty hunter this time around –so why would Reborn feel the need to inform me of Mukuro's presence in Namimori?

"Who's your target?"

Ah, right. Reborn only knew that I was here to hunt someone down; someone who'd be coming to Namimori soon –Mukuro certainly fit the bill well enough.

"Del Moria," I revealed easily. "He's an accomplished saboteur and informant with an impressive collection of blackmail. Better known by his alias, Birds, I believe."

There was a brief moment of silence between us.

Birds was one of the criminals who'd broken out of Vendicare with Mukuro, the harmless-looking old man who raised birds and used them to spy on others, the one who held the loyalty of the Twins. His true name was relatively unknown since he went by his alias for the most part, but he'd been careless in one of his later dealings with a member of the Calcassa Famiglia –who immediately put out a request for his head upon discovering his escape from Vendicare.

Experience had taught me that I needed a _viable_ reason to be in Namimori. If I wasn't a resident of Namimori, choosing instead chose to hone my combat skills in Italy, convincing Reborn that I harbored no ill intentions towards Tsuna and his Guardians was _hard_.

Hard, but not impossible.

I wondered if Reborn believed in coincidences.

* * *

"_Hey, Mukuro?"_

"_Hm?"_

"_About what you told Tsuna back when we first met… you said that your body has been through all six paths to Hades in your previous lives, and that's how you gained your abilities…"_

"_Fufu. That's correct. How like you to remember such a thing, Tsubaki."_

"_Do you… do you remember anything from your previous lives?"_

…

"… _What makes you ask such a question?"_

…

"_No reason."_

* * *

Kokuyo Land.

Or rather, what remained of it –what used to be an entertainment resort, filled with relaxed vacationers tanning themselves under the sun and excited children running everywhere underfoot. The overgrown shrubbery spilling onto the beaten paths lent an eerie, desolate feel to the entire place, and rubbles of buildings which once stood tall and proud were now imprinted with moss.

I still remembered times when this place had still been Kokuyo Land rather than No-Man's Land.

"_Hi there! I'm Tsubaki. What's your name?"_

_Wide brown eyes, startled at being addressed directly by someone else in a cheerful manner. Hunched shoulders, almost as if he wanted to disappear into the ground at seeing another child his age._

"_S-Sawada Tsunayoshi."_

"_Tsuna? That's a nice name." Bright smile directed towards the nervous little boy. Holding out a hand, an unspoken invitation of friendship. "Would you like to look at the garden zoo with me?"_

_A moment of hesitation on his part –there was a sharp stab of pain from the wariness and fear in his eyes– before he timidly reached back, fingers lightly brushing against the palm of my hand._

"_Okay."_

_Soft, hesitant smile, hope blooming in his eyes-_

"_We're going to be best, best friends, Tsuna." Ignoring the startled shout, lunging forward and pulling him into a tight hug, movements tinged with desperation-_

"_I'll always be here for you."_

A soft sigh escaped my lips, and I stepped out from the shadows.

Lingering in the background for a moment or two was good and all, the trademark reaction of a cautious assassin that was invited into a close-knit group for a mission, but hide too long and Reborn would start thinking that I was trying to analyze their formation for weaknesses to take advantage of.

(Never underestimate the paranoia of a trigger-happy hitman.)

"You! What are you doing here?!"

Something in me flinched at the wariness in Hayato's voice, just as it always did at moments like these, but I managed to shrug it off easily enough –a skill born from necessity and repetition. Lots and lots of repetition.

"Nice to see you too, Hurricane Bomb." The silver-haired explosives expert twitched at the drawl I'd inserted into my voice as I brushed past him. I didn't meet his eyes, letting my gaze slide off of him to look at the rest of the group. Would Reborn interpret it as arrogance on my part? "I see that your manners are as polite as ever."

Discreetly, I let my eyes linger a little longer on Tsuna, who had an Oh-my-god-why-is-this-happening-to-me look plastered to his face.

I decided to take pity on him. As expected, Reborn hadn't informed them of my sudden inclusion in their "counterattack" on the Kokuyo Gang. Tsuna was already having enough trouble coming to terms with the mafia, let alone having an assassin standing next to him. Unlike Hayato and Takeshi. I wasn't considered a _friend_ to him at this point in time –a bitter coil of pain in my chest, and I let it pass– and even though Reborn wasn't necessarily a _friend_ yet, he was his tutor and someone who could be trusted.

It probably didn't help that Hayato acted like I was an enemy.

"It turned out that my target is actually collaborating with yours." Since Reborn evidently hadn't provided an explanation for them and I held no desire remain the object of their collective attention, it fell onto my shoulders to run through the situation to them. "I'm only after Birds. Whatever you do with Rokudo –that's your business. Not mine."

Then, an afterthought. "Unless Sawada decides to cash in on that favor I promised."

No assassin liked owing favors –too many loose ends, too many liabilities. It wasn't likely that Tsuna would actually call on me for my favor, though; not if Reborn had a say in things. Which, in another sense, was exactly what I wanted.

Owing a favor to Tsuna would provide me a sound excuse to stick around Namimori longer without raising any more undue suspicions.

"Tch, let's go."

How many times had I walked these winding paths? Kokuyo Land was a place I hated almost as much as I did Namimori, but it was also a place that I'd never be able to regard with more than bitter nostalgia…

_This is where we first met Mukuro._

_This is where we established one of our earlier bases._

_This is where our illusions shattered and blood spilled forth._

"-watch out! There's something behind us! Juudaime, MOVE!"

Right.

Ken had been rather vicious in the beginning, during the times when we were still enemies with Mukuro.

Stepping to the side and dodging, I watched as the group promptly freaked out as we were hit by the carcasses of dogs. Fresh bodies dripping with bloods –an amateur intimidation tactic, mainly meant to unnerve the opponent. The classic method was using human corpses –preferably the corpses of co-workers or friends of the target– and setting them up in the area where you wanted to lure your target towards.

Goodness knows how many times I'd fallen for it in the beginning.

I slipped out from the brief refuge I'd taken behind a tree trunk after Hayato's warning, just in time to see Takeshi fall into the ground and Ken dart in after him, Tsuna's startled shouts ringing in the empty air –louder than Takeshi's own, even.

"Takeshi? Takeshi, are you alright?!"

Joining the circle they'd formed around the hole on the ground, I belatedly recognized remains of one of the smaller dome-shaped exhibits in the garden zoo that I remembered visiting several lifetimes ago. A landslide seemed to have buried the entire structure, but it was still recognizable –barely, but still recognizable.

Leaning over Bianchi's shoulder to peer into the pit with them, I let out a long whistle.

"That's a pretty long way down." Voice amused, but hinting at offhand disinterest. "Is he still alive?"

Hayato immediately rounded on me, scowling. "The baseball idiot is dumb, but he won't die so easily!"

I raised my hands in a half-surrender at his vehemence, shrugging my shoulders. Was it because I was an assassin this time that Hayato was behaving so antagonistically? Being a bounty hunter hadn't drawn as much enmity as this. "Okay, okay, whatever you say-"

"Watch out, there's something to your right!"

Tsuna's warning snapped our attentions back onto Takeshi, who got into a half-crouched position as he peered into the darkness.

"Kakipii's asleep, y'know…" Tsuna let out a small 'eep' when something in the shadows _moved_, and Hayato narrowed his eyes. "I don't have any orders right now, so I'm really bored 'cuz I've got nothing to do. And then, here comes my prey, right into my territory. That makes me…"

Bloodthirsty grin, bared fangs.

Ken.

"… _Really, really happy!"_

Bolting forward, clipping Takeshi on the shoulder. Takeshi, who still wasn't taking things seriously yet.

"Hey, you're really good at this game." The oblivious teen grinned cheerily, "Those zombie dog puppets earlier looked super real, too! What did you use to make them?"

Only you, Takeshi. Only you.

"_Hey, you're pretty good at this mafia game!"_

_And something. Just. Snapped._

"_Stop treating this as a _game, _Takeshi! The mafia is real! Ken won't really be aiming to kill you, but you can't keep going on with this kind of attitude! You can't-"_

_Breath catching in throat, eyes widening._

_Ken's eyes glinted as blood dripped from his fangs, from where he'd ripped out Takeshi's throat._

"_Which one of you is next?"_

_(This isn't the Ken you know, the one you went on supply runs with whenever you needed to sneak into town. This isn't the Ken you know, who wouldn't hesitate to take a bullet for any of us without a second thought. _This isn't the Ken you know. _This is a Ken who remembers years of torment under the Estraneo Famiglia; a Ken whose only devotion is to a Mukuro who wants to possess Tsuna; a Ken who wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone standing in Mukuro's way.)_

_Distractions in a battle can be fatal._

"-told you already, didn't I? It's true I've got a baseball tournament waiting for me in autumn, but I'm not going to choose baseball over my friends, Tsuna."

Ah. I really had to stop getting distracted like this.

I watched as Takeshi laughed, waving off Tsuna's concerns about the injury on his forearm. Ken was lying on the ground, still and unmoving; feigning unconsciousness for the moment. It seemed like Takesh had sacrificed his arm to lure Ken to him, all for the sake of protecting Tsuna-

_Never change, Takeshi._

"That's one down," Reborn whipped out a photo from nowhere, holding it up for us to see. "These are the principle members of the group we're facing. The one we just defeated is Joushima Ken, on the far right. Rokudo Mukuro is the one in the middle."

A lie.

But I bit my tongue and kept my silence.

"This'll be easy!" Hayato grinned confidently, "Glasses-freak is still down, and we just took down the animal-freak, too. Bringing down Rokudo will be a piece of cake!"

And Ken _laughed,_ abandoning all pretense of playing dead_. _A wild, scornful laugh; clearly audible even though he was still sitting at the bottom of the pit.

"You know nothing, fools!" I could _hear_ that sneer in his voice. "Mukuro will slaughter you all before you even reach him! _You won't even be able to see his face!"_

Tsuna was visibly affected by hearing Ken's scathing rant, but Bianchi only looked bored –before dropping one of the larger pieces of rubble directly into the pit. I resisted the urge to twitch. Ken would survive –he was of the sturdy sort; but even so, getting a boulder dropped on you from a height like that had _ought_ to hurt.

"It would be good not to take Rokudo lightly," Reborn continued, completely unperturbed. "He is responsible for landing both police and mafia alike in dangerous situations, and he had no qualms about killing people when he escaped on the eve of his execution."

"_Hiiie!"_

'Hiiie,' indeed.

… When was it that I'd lost any qualms I had for killing?

_Not like it matters, really._

I trailed a little behind the group as we walked on, eyeing the invisible barrier between us. I remembered times when I used to bicker with Hayato at Tsuna's side, when I tried to learn Poison Cooking from Bianchi, when I was even a baseball nut that one time at Namimori Middle…

_Focus. Reborn is looking in your direction._

I surreptitiously checked that my face was still a mask of indifference as I followed them down the deserted paths. Talented as I was at lying, Reborn always had that uncanny sense to know when someone was putting up a façade in front of him-

_Something's wrong._

There was a strange heat radiating from the tree I'd just passed –something that shouldn't be possible-

-unless it was MM.

But why target _me?_ Usually it was Bianchi –occasionally Hayato, but-

No time to think.

I was barely aware of Tsuna's shriek when I _jumped_, using the side of a mossy boulder as a springboard to propel myself _away_ from the burning wooden splinters, eyes instinctively flickering over our surroundings and analyzing the terrain.

MM usually targeted us from a hidden position in a building when we stopped for lunch. Her assault was a little early this time –something to take note of, but not too surprising. Everything always varied from time to time, after all-

Ah.

There she was.

"Che, I can't believe Ken and Chikusa lost to _you_ guys –honestly, I don't get why Mukuro still puts up with-"

_Found you._

The short-haired girl collapsed to the ground in a crumpled heap, and I lowered my fist. She'd be out of it for awhile, probably have a killer headache when she awoke. That girl's head was surprisingly hard.

Ken, MM.

That's two down. Next should be-

"My, my, I didn't expect her to be so useless."

I glanced up towards the gravelly voice.

-Birds.

"I suggest you give up now." The diminutive frame of an old man, so deceptively harmless. So completely at odds with the slow, slow smile spreading over his lips. "If you don't want your precious little friends getting hurt, that is."

Wrinkled hands held up a laptop whose screen showed real-time video feeds of two schoolgirls, both of whom were still blissfully ignorant of the imminent danger about to befall them.

"Kyoko! Haru!"

_Kyoko, eyes still widened in shock and mouth open in a small 'o' of surprise. A small pool of blood was forming under the silken locks of her hair –a bullet to the head; an instantaneous kill._

_Haru, who hadn't been as lucky. Someone had detonated a bomb in the base she'd re-located to –we were never able to recover her body._

"If you don't want any of them getting hurt-" A menacing leer crept across the old man's face, "Then follow my orders and do _exactly _as I say."

… Well.

Stepping forward, hand drifting to the hilt of the sword at my side-

"Wait!" Tsuna's panicked voice stopped me in my tracks, "D-Don't attack him! He'll hurt Kyoko and Haru!"

"He's my target," I said blandly, acting the part of the assassin that I was. "Do not stop me. Or are you telling me that you're backing out on our deal, Decimo?"

Something in him faltered for a moment –fear at standing up to a professional assassin, perhaps?– before I saw his eyes change; a flicker of flames flashing through like quicksilver as his resolve hardened-

This was a glimpse of the Tsuna who would gladly give his life to save his Family in the future.

My hand fell limply to my side again.

* * *

_Reborn had first heard whispers of a new assassin surfacing in the ranks of the elites two years ago._

_He'd kept an ear to the rumors like he always did –rumors had a tendency to become flamboyant and exaggerated, but he was good at picking out the truth in them. Besides, keeping an eye on promising talents was never a bad thing; maybe he could reel in the assassin as a bodyguard for Dino?_

_They said she was young, that she had potential to grow. They said she was cautious –the only surefire way to find her was through the Assassins' Guild. It was nigh-impossible to track her down, and those who were sent after her were never seen again._

_They also said that she refused any and all offers to join a Famiglia or align herself with any faction._

_She was a Stray. Always on the move, never resting, one hit targeted after another. Some said she was suicidal –she'd probably lost her original Famiglia and now threw herself into killing with single-minded intensity._

_Reborn had no use for suicidal cases._

_Then his contacts had told him of another rising talent –the Hurricane Bomb, Gokudera Hayato. An explosives expert who'd undergone a brief period of training under Trident Shamal, and currently held no affiliations. Or rather, was _rejected _–for being a bastard child._

_So he'd focused his attentions on digging into Gokudera's background instead, and then he received his next assignment._

_Make Sawada Tsunayoshi into the Vongola Decimo._

_Gokudera would be a nice addition to Dame-Tsuna's Famiglia. A young teen who knew of emptiness and loneliness, who wished for acceptance, a place to belong and a purpose to fight for –he would make a good right-hand man. Someone who, while not experienced_ _per se, held a thorough understanding of the darker aspects of the mafia world that he'd grown up in. A sharp contrast to Yamamoto Takeshi and Sasagawa Ryohei and even Tsuna himself, who were, for all intents and purposes, ignorant civilians._

_And then the Stray wandered into Namimori._

_Truth be told, Reborn hadn't pieced together the sight of the diminutive little girl with the rumors of the ruthless assassin directly ("A-ah, Reborn? What is Number One doing in a place like this?"). Her stance, the way she held herself –it was obvious that she was an assassin with a single glance, and he'd seen a glimpse of her skill from her fluid movements in that brief bout with Hibari._

_There was no doubt in his mind that she was dangerous._

_After the young hitman –hitwoman, really– had explained to him that she was only in Namimori for a job and not to sabotage Vongola affairs, he'd nodded cordially on the surface and set his underground contacts to work immediately. Because, world-weary eyes or not, it was unacceptable that a potential threat to Tsuna's safety had entered Namimori so easily without his knowing-_

"'_Teenager, black eyes, black hair'. You're not really giving me much to work off of here, Reborn."_

"_She's an oriental."_

"_There's gotta be hundreds of 'em that're assassins! Gimme something more specific. My intel network is damn good, but even I can't track someone with that vague-ass description of yours-"_

"_She uses a tsurugi."_

"_Oh, sure, like that's any better for me to work off of with my- wait a second. Tsurugi? Not a katana?"_

"… _Are you questioning me?"_

"_Don't sound so scary, Reborn! I'll have to check with a couple of my agents on this, but… I think that sounds like the Stray. To my knowledge, she's the only one that's young and favors a tsurugi for assassination techniques. You usually only see those on the frontlines."_

_He'd kept a close eye on the girl when he brought her into the Sawada household that afternoon. She hadn't shown any reactions that set off those alarm bells in his head, but it was precisely _because_ her actions were so passive and unthreatening that he was suspicious. _Any _assassin would be twitchy and on guard in his presence, showing signs of growing unease, but she was completely placid and calm._

_All assassins were required to have formidable control over their bodies –but the level of control that this girl had over her reactions was-_

_Frightening._

_It wasn't until she was at the doorstep and about to leave that he finally caught a crack in her mask._

_A single moment when her eyes softened as she'd looked at Tsuna, flanked by his friends –a shadow of hurt and pain flickering, and something _burning-

_-And then it was gone, as quickly as it'd come. But Reborn knew better than to dismiss it as a simple trick of the light._

_Tsubaki, was it?_

_He'd watch her._

_If her background checks turned up clean (or as clean as they could get in the mafia world) and she proved to be trustworthy –there was no doubt that her abilities would make her a fine ally to the future Vongola Decimo. Reborn was nothing if not tenacious, and Tsuna, Dame as he was at the moment, certainly had the potential to become a brilliant Sky. He had no doubts that Tsuna would be able to convince her to join his Family when push came to shove (and god knows how many shoves Dame-Tsuna needed to get things done)._

_If it turned out that there was reason behind his suspicions, however-_

_Well._

… _It'd certainly be a shame for the mafia to lose such a promising talent, but he'd never allow a weapon like her the chance to be pointed towards Vongola._

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Hi all.

So. We're headed straight into the Kokuyo Arc, and a short (okay, so maybe not-so-short) snippet of things from Reborn's perspective has been added at the end (by request of Charisasori). Next up will be the battle against Mukuro. Any thoughts on what will happen?

Also, "Polaris" has finally been updated. It's the only other KHR fanfic I've written and features an OC who is Squalo's older sister; feel free to check it out if you'd like. It's not written in the format of a legit story like this one is, more drabble-like with the story being told from multiple POVs.

… Anyways, yay for updating fast! This has got to be the fastest time I've ever updated a story –credits to XxZuiyun for typing that last part with Reborn's POV. There might be a little lag before the next chapter comes out, but hopefully we'll be able to finish it as soon as possible.

A big thanks to everyone who reviewed/favorite/alerted to show their support of the story! Your advice on how to improve/fix our writing and your thoughts on the chapter in general are very much appreciated. Please don't forget to tell us what you think of this chapter!

**QUESTION: **Would you rather see more snippets from OCTsubaki's previous loops, or small segments of other characters' POVs?

Till next time,

XxZuiliu


	3. 01: 3 First Step

My eyes narrowed at the sheer arrogance and complacency of the old man –the way he was able to say those words so cordially gave rise to the all-too-familiar burn in my chest, an urge to make him _hurt-_

_Tsuna told you to stand down._

But this Tsuna didn't _know_ me, didn't know what I was capable of-

_Every timeline is different. What if Kyoko and Haru die here because of your recklessness?_

I didn't bother to hide the grimace on my face –let Reborn think of it what he will. Would he read it as unwillingness on my behalf to listen to Tsuna? Frustration at seeing my target right in front of me, and being denied the opportunity to attack him?

"That's crazy! There's no way we'll-"

"Well, it's okay with me even if you refuse," The cordial smile on the old man's face suddenly morphed into something much more sinister. "I have a hobby, y'see… I like seeing people get frightened. I love that look on their faces when they realize that they're helpless. I love seeing the reaction of innocent people in the instant they discover they're in danger and there's _no escape._ For example… what would happen if those lovely little girls found that their hair suddenly caught on fire? I wonder what wonderful faces they'll display."

"You sick freak!"

Frustration. Anger. I could see it splayed across their faces, clear as day.

And I was just as helpless as they were to stop him.

_It's easy enough to kill Birds. A simple step, a simple swing, and his head will roll... But what if he left instructions for the Twins to kill Kyoko and Haru on his death? What then?_

A_ real _assassin wouldn't hesitate to achieve their objective-

_What's more important? Keeping up this act, or protecting your friends?_

My lips thinned.

There was a fierce scowl on Takeshi's face, one that mirrored Hayato's own. "Like hell we're going to just listen to-"

"No! I-I'll do it! Hayato, Takeshi, p-please beat me up!" It was evident that Tsuna wanted to slap himself for letting the words escape his mouth, but it was just as obvious that he'd truly rather undergo a beating rather than let any harm befall Kyoko and Haru.

Both teens whirled on him immediately, eyes wide.

"Juudaime!"

"Ah, you're really going through with it? And here I was, getting excited to hear their delightful screams…" Birds shook his head in mock-sadness, before a gleam crept into his eyes. "Five seconds, then. If I don't see blood in five seconds, we can watch the Twins light the girls on fire."

"That's crazy." Takeshi hissed, involuntarily taking a step back.

Hayato fared no better in terms of reactions, "There's no way I can do something like that!"

_That's right. Both of you are completely loyal to Tsuna –both of you are here to _protect_ him, after all. Why do anything as counterproductive as attacking him?_

… _Though, not everyone holds the same qualms as you._

Bianchi's punch sent Tsuna _flying._

"SIS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

The hitwoman flipped a lock of hair over her shoulder, "From the very beginning, I came to Namimori to kill Tsuna, right? Lucky for me, I've been given that chance right now. Why not take advantage of it?"

_Your actions don't match you words, Bianchi. True, you struck him just as Birds wanted you to –but it was only a superficial glance, only drawing a small trail of blood. You didn't use any real strength behind that blow._

_You don't want to hurt Tsuna, either._

"Oho, looks like you've cleared the first job!" Slow, mocking claps from gnarled hands. I made an effort to keep my features blank. "How 'bout this? If you can complete the next task I have for you, then I'll let the girls go free. What do you say?"

Imperceptibly, my eyes narrowed.

"As for my second request," A cold glint of steel, and Hayato _blanched. _Takeshi wasn't any better off, and neither was Tsuna once the two realized what Birds held a heartbeat after Hayato had recognized the object. "Please take this knife and stab the Decimo with it. All. The way. _To the hilt_."

Silence.

"THAT'S GOING TOO FAR!" Hayato roared, eyes brimming with unrestrained fury.

The old man completely ignored him, focusing instead on Tsuna.

"So, will you do it? If not…" I watched as he carelessly gestured to the screen, where the Twins each brought out a bottle of-

"Sulfuric acid?!" Tsuna screeched in visible panic as the grotesque criminals began uncapping the cylindrical containers, "W-What are you going to do with that?"

_Wrong question. _How _did he do that? _I eyed Birds contemplatively. _I've always assumed that he was able to do something with his birds to give them orders, but… just how is he communicating with the twins? Their reactions to his orders are instantaneous. Even with birds to relay his commands, there should be some sort of delay, right?_

"What else can you do with sulfuric acid?" Birds shot back at Tsuna, leering at him, "I must admit, I highly anticipate hearing their pretty little screams when they have it poured all over their perfect little bodies. Won't you watch the show with me?"

I discreetly peered at the screen again. It was high-definition, so as to allow Tsuna to have a clear image of the girls and their predicament, but at the same time…

_On their ears. It's faint, but… those earpieces. Are they wireless radio devices? If that's the case, then…_

I thoughtfully eyed the yellow bird flitting about his shoulders. Most of his birds were equipped with a camera or a recorder of some sort, but this one-

_It looks almost like a microphone._

"I-I'll do it!" Tsuna's voice split through my thoughts, and I glanced sharply towards him. "Stab me! With the knife or whatever, just stab me! Kyoko and Haru have nothing to do with this, I-I can't let them get hurt!"

If my suspicions were right-

_Go for it._

"'With the knife or whatever,' eh?" I worked my lips into an easygoing smile as I cocked my head at Tsuna. "How very brave of you, Decimo. Does that mean I'm allowed to stab you with my sword, too?"

Even though it was only an act, a ploy, part of my _plan, _it didn't stop that slight twinge of pain when I saw that horrified expression turn towards me–nor did it help when Hayato abruptly rounded on me, blazing with anger_. _"I knew it! You're here to kill Juudaime after all, aren't you, _assassin-_"

"Of course it's fine," The old man's eyes crinkled in satisfaction as his attention turned towards me. Nonchalant as I was acting, I felt a light coat of sweat on my palms –if I was wrong, if Reborn decided to interfere despite orders from Nono to remain on the sidelines-

"That's good to hear," I responded lightly, turning to face Tsuna and reaching for my sword.

_Got you._

In the same split second that I _dashed _in the exact opposite direction of Tsuna, my left hand snaked out and crushed the yellow bird fluttering next to Birds in a vice-like grip. His reaction speed was slow, much too slow to stop me. By the time his mind had caught up with his eyes and his mouth opened to scream, my tsurugi was already biting into his body.

_Don't kill him._

_Not yet._

_Don't kill in front of Tsuna and the others. They're still innocent. They haven't seen bloodshed. Don't put another reason for distance between yourselves._

_Don't kill._

"H-How DARE YOU?"

There was a shell-shocked look on Tsuna's face –halfway torn between heartfelt relief that I didn't stab him and… well, complete shock that I didn't stab him, opting to go after Birds instead. The old man was _writhing_ on the ground, howling in pain and fury from having his tendons in both wrists and ankles severed effortlessly.

It was far from the slow, brutal death he deserved and would be receiving at a later date, but he wouldn't be getting up again anytime soon.

"Get the girls! Pour the acid, LET THEM BURN!" There was spittle flying from his mouth as the aging criminal screamed like the deranged madman that he was.

I let out a small exhale, opening my hand, watching the shivering little bird crouched in the center of my palm. Broken pieces of machinery now hung uselessly around its neck, the remains of what used to be a miniature microphone that transmitted each and every one of Birds' words to the Twins. There was no mistaking the low-quality product. It probably had a lot of static noise mixed in already, and now that it was destroyed –well, the lack of sound could easily be interpreted as weak signals, and I'd be surprised if occasional bouts of silence weren't the norm for a low-grade merchandise like this. It's not like there were strong signals in run-down ruins like Kokuyo Land in the first place, anyways.

I absentmindedly stroked the fluffy yellow bird sitting in my hand. Poor thing, I hadn't meant to hurt its wings when I'd grabbed it.

My attention turned towards the laptop screen again, where the Twins were still and unmoving. Awaiting further instructions –instructions that would never come.

_They'll be safe. The Twins won't attack without Birds saying so, and they'll be reaching more public areas soon –or Shamal and the kids will turn up again, in which case they'll still be safe._

I chanced a look at the others around me. There was a look of relief on Tsuna's face as he observed that Kyoko and Haru were –miraculously– completely unharmed, even though the same couldn't be said for Birds. Hayato was still tense, though he was visibly confused, eyes darting from Birds (who was still screaming on the ground) to the girls (who were still unharmed).

"_WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR, YOU FOOLS?"_

_Shut up._ The sheathed point of my tsurugi jabbed into Birds' disabled wrist, and the man let out another screech of pain.

"Your voice is grating on my ears." A note of annoyance crept into my voice, an emotion that wasn't entirely false at the moment. The old man's mouth immediately snapped shut, face rapidly paling several shades of white when my sword moved towards his neck. "Honestly, would it kill you to be a little quieter? It's not like the Twins can hear you anymore…"

"Why not kill him?"

Right.

Reborn was still watching.

_Because I didn't want to kill in front of them, not when their hands are still unstained by blood, not when they're still so young, not when it's not _necessary_ to kill each and every enemy._

_Yet._

"These clothes are new," I shrugged. "I don't want to get blood on them so soon."

Silence.

"… Kidding, kidding." Reborn didn't look the slightest bit convinced by the flimsy excuse, not that I expected him to be. I wasn't familiar enough with them yet that he would let this slip and allow me to keep my secrets. A breezy grin settled over my lips as I made a show of returning my tsurugi to my hip. "Client wants a taped recording of the kill. Confession, torture, the works."

Off to the side, Tsuna made a strangled noise in his throat.

Reborn, on the other hand, simply nodded in understanding. Sometimes, the clients commissioning assassinations wanted unconventional murders –taping the way a target was slowly tormented to death was but one of the many different types of kills offered in an assassin's repertoire.

Briefly, my eyes flickered over the boys again –Hayato was still on edge and eyeing me with suspicion, Takeshi looked equal parts impressed and unnerved by my brutal efficiency, and Tsuna-

_A hint of fear. What else did you expect, really, talking so callously about killing?_

"Are you leaving, then?"

I blinked in surprise at Reborn, not entirely having expected that question.

"That-" _Don't waver, don't let him know that his question took you off guard. He's only testing you, trying to push your buttons and find out what you'll react to. Don't let him know. _"-that depends, I suppose. Will the Decimo be calling in on his favor to keep me here?"

Reborn… always so astute. He'd probably picked up something when I attacked Birds –not going in directly for the kill, but doing so in a way that protected Kyoko and Haru. Tsuna's friends. It was completely unlike what any other assassin would do; any other assassin would simply hurry up and get the job over with. As far as Reborn was concerned, the wellbeing of Kyoko and Haru were none of my concern. Why go out of my way to ensure their safety?

… The consequences of this were regrettable, but I couldn't –_wouldn't_– risk them getting hurt.

(Again.)

"Someone else is here."

There was an unusually serious expression on Bianchi's face, one that had everyone tensing again. Her gaze was focused on a patch of trees to the left, and her voice was hard when she spoke again, "Quit hiding and show yourself! If you won't come out, then we'll come over, got it?"

_But it's not another enemy this time. It's Fuuta._

I watched silently as the young boy emerged from the bushes, listening-but-not-listening to the startled exclamations that sounded from the group.

_Fuuta had always been such a sweet little boy._

Tsuna gave chase as Fuuta turned and ran after warning us to turn back, to stay away from Mukuro –as if we could ever do something like that– and an iron ball crashed to the ground right in front of Hayato and Takeshi, preventing them from following after him.

There was no dilly-dallying this time, where Lancia took time to show the difference in strength he had from Takeshi and Hayato. The air currents from the engraved dragons on the iron ball was enough to yank the boys off their feet, slamming their bodies against his weapon and letting them drop to the ground. Takeshi wasn't fully recovered from his bout with Ken yet, and Gokudera was still suffering from aftereffects of a poison.

Bianchi had whipped out her Poison Cooking and was already slinging platefuls of it towards Lancia, but her specialty was in close range combat –if she wasn't able to get close enough to her target to use her Poison Cooking, then it was useless. She was no slouch in fighting, to be sure, but Lancia was equally skilled as she was. The heavy iron ball kept her at bay as she repeatedly tried to close in on him from various angles. It'd probably take awhile before she'd be able to read his movements, but Lancia had suffered through Vendicare –Bianchi would be able to wrestle a victory in this match.

"I take it that you're staying, then?"

Right. Reborn. Don't get too caught up in watching the battle.

"His weapon is interesting," I remarked lightly, folding my arms across my chest. "But to answer your question… no, I'm not planning on staying any longer than I already have. I've finished what I came here for, haven't I? There's no reason for me to keep sticking around. Besides…"

A self-depreciating smile curled at the edge of my lips, but I managed to suppress the motion before it was visible, "… Your kids don't seem to be comfortable with my presence here."

"Interesting that you would refer to Bianchi as a child," There was a hint of something sharp in Reborn's eyes before it quickly smoothed and his face became blank again.

Did he do it on purpose? What was he trying to let me infer from that expression?

… Well, that didn't matter at the moment.

"I'm afraid you've misunderstood me," I jabbed down at Birds with the sheathed point of my tsurugi, watching as the old man spasm and go limp from being hit on a paralytic point. "I'd never try to demean the Poison Scorpion like that."

"Funny. Does that mean you're purposely demeaning the future Vongola Decimo and his subordinates?" His childish voice was tinged with something darker, even though his tone remained the same. The words were both challenging and provocative –a sharp rebuke that no hitman with any sense of pride would let slip-

But I'd realized a long time ago that pride was useless.

"Now why would I do that, either?" I slipped in a note of nonchalance as I spoke, "I have no grievances with the Vongola, and I intend to keep it that way. I don't see any benefits from making an enemy out of the strongest Famiglia in Italy."

"Is that so?"

I shrugged noncommittally, bending down and grabbing Birds by the collar of his neck, ignoring the very unmanly yelp that came from his throat. No sense in getting caught up in an argument with him –what if I let something slip and made him think I was a hostile threat? Better to leave now before I was in too deep. Bianchi hadn't sustained many injuries since I took care of MM earlier, and she'd be able to win against Lancia on her own. Tsuna would be coming back soon, anyways, so I wasn't too worried on that front. And, worse come to worst, there was always Reborn watching over them.

They truly were children.

"Take it or leave it, Reborn. I speak the truth –whether you choose believe me or not is entirely up to your own judgment."

I turned and walked away, feeling a pair of icy eyes on my back until I disappeared from sight.

"W-W-What are you going to do? I-I'm warning you, even though we've failed to get r-rid of you, M-Mukuro still has a plan! E-even if you get past all of us he won't-"

"Hm?" I smiled at the shivering wreck of an old man, long and slow. "Oh, you mean that the man Bianchi is fighting right now _isn't_ Mukuro?"

Birds' jaw snapped shut with an audible clack, and I resisted the urge to snort at his panicked expression. He was deathly scared of Mukuro –revealing that Lancia was impersonating Mukuro when Mukuro was using him as a cover sounded like the sort of thing the Mukuro at this point would punish his little underlings for.

"Well, that's none of my business." The old man practically _sagged _with relief. Idiot. He had far more pressing concerns at the moment. "I'm only here for _you_."

I felt my smile widen just a touch when his body locked up again.

"Threatening little kids isn't very nice, Birds." I crouched down in front of him so we were face to face, relishing in the unease and fear that flashed across his eyes. "And seeing other people be hurt for your own enjoyment? My, my, aren't you the poster criminal."

My tone was soft and casual, and it was immensely gratifying to see him _twitch_ as I reached out a hand and ran a single finger down the side of his face, before leaning in as he shivered involuntarily.

"W-Wha-"

"Shhh," I whispered directly into his ear, watching with a sort of dark satisfaction in my chest as his pupils dilated in fear. "We're going to have a little conversation tonight about you and your bad habits, you and I. About why you shouldn't go around threatening people all the time –particularly when you're going about threatening _people who you shouldn't be threatening._"

I paused as I sat back on my haunches, and smiled pleasantly at the old man whose face was drained of blood.

"I'm going to have a lot of fun taking care of you, Birds. I wonder how long you'll last before you stop screaming?"

* * *

_Chaos. Pain. Blood._

"_-ke up! Tsubaki, wake up!"_

_Fear. Panic. Hysteria._

"_WAKE UP!"_

_Eyes snapping open. Awareness. The madness bled away into reality –the slack faces of fresh corpses changing into concerned eyes, and a cup of lukewarm water being stuffed into numb fingers._

"_Drink. Did you have a nightmare again, Tsubaki?"_

"… _Yeah."_

"_What was it about?"_

"…"

"_Look, we know you're tough and all, but even Tsuna is starting to get worried about you now. Why won't you trust us? We can't help you if you won't let us help you, dammit!"_

"… _Sorry."_

_There was a frustrated sigh as he ran a hand through his hair._

"_You… do you have any idea how difficult you're being right now? I swear, even the stupid cow was never as troublesome as you."_

_A small laugh._

"_Now you're just being mean to me, Hayato."_

_Pause._

"… _You know that we'll always be here for you, yeah?"_

…

…

…

"… _Yeah. I know."_

_I know._

_I know it._

_I know it all too well, and I know that I don't deserve it._

_..._

_They'll never know._

_..._

* * *

_Tsuna hadn't ever really thought about it before, but there'd always been a sort of intuition inside of him that helped him understand his friends._

_When Gokudera had first barged into his class, his first instinct had been to cower away from the dangerous-looking delinquent, and he'd completely panicked after getting knocked over by him –but later on when he was on the grassy field, standing in nothing but his boxers while his hands were smarting in pain, and Gokudera suddenly pledged undying loyalty to him– he'd felt it._

_That overbearing sense of loneliness that the silver-haired boy carried within himself, that overwhelming need for acceptance, from anyone, from someone, from _him –_him, Dame-Tsuna._

_And Yamamoto. When Yamamoto had been down in the dumps and depressed enough to consider seeking suicide, he'd felt the same crushing despair that'd almost swallowed Yamamoto whole. He'd reached out a hand to the popular baseball player without a second thought. And, in the single instant that Yamamoto had began tipping over the edge of the school building, his body had been moving before his mind even registered what was happening before his eyes._

_Tsuna remembered meeting Ryohei, being punched in the face before Kyoko managed to clear up the misunderstanding –he remembered the brief flash in which he'd experienced that fierce protectiveness of a sibling's love. Then came the dogged insistence on joining the Boxing Club, a sport that sparked a burning passion and heated joy._

_And recently, when he'd been chasing after Fuuta and gotten lost in the forest –that strange Kokuyo student who'd approached him in clearing out of nowhere. He seemed fine on the surface, but something about him was… broken. Shattered and broken, and terribly jaded._

_Then he found his friends again, and discovered Bianchi struggling against a new opponent._

"_Go on! Defeat Mukuro with your dying will!"_

_Except it wasn't Mukuro who they defeated. It was Lancia, a man who'd been under Mukuro's control for years, forced to commit numerous atrocities in his name after first being possessed and killing his Family. Tsuna could see that there was undeniably compassion and mercy in Lancia towards the children that Mukuro bade him to kill, just as clear as the self-disgust and hopelessness that ached in his heart._

_It…_

_Well, it kind of reminded him of Tsubaki, actually._

_He didn't know the girl very well, hardly having exchanged a handful of words with her since the day she'd turned up in his living room out of the blue. His nervousness had resurfaced that day and he'd barely been able to keep from being an embarrassing, stumbling wreck –but he remembered sitting uncomfortably on folded legs and watching the blank-faced assassin's fingers trail his mother's teacup again and again and again._

_There'd been something about her aura that'd thrown him off for a moment. It was poignant and bitter and heavy, it was…_

…

_Sad._

_Yes, that was it._

_Sure, he was scared and uneasy around her, just like he'd been around Bianchi in the beginning –and to be honest, it was even worse than that especially since she'd demonstrated to them perfectly well how easily she could kill another human being. But there was a greater part of his empathy and compassion that reached out to her anyways, no matter how dangerous Hayato insisted she was to him._

_Call him weak and softhearted, but Tsuna firmly believed that no one deserved to be so incredibly sad._

* * *

_._

_..._

_._

* * *

**EDIT 5/06: **So, some people pointed out that we were using "naginata" and "sword" interchangeably at this point. We went and double-checked -turns out we had the wrong idea, so thank you very much to those who brought the error to our attention. We thought that "naginata" was the word for a double-edged sword, when it turns out that the correct term would be "tsurugi." A "naginata" is more like a polearm than a sword, really...

Thanks again for bringing this to our attention! Errors should be fixed now, but let us know if you still spot "naginata" wandering somewhere around the text. xD

-XxZuiliu, XxZuiyun

* * *

Author's Notes:

Hi everyone.

So, Tsubaki isn't going with the gang to have a face-off with Mukuro –hope I haven't disappointed too many people with that. ;) The reasons being: 1) She doesn't see a need to be there. It's Tsuna/Hayato/Takeshi's fight against Mukuro to get stronger, she's only tagging along in the beginning to make sure her presence hasn't skewed things too badly and for Birds. 2) Reborn wants to keep an eye on her for awhile. It's infinitely easier for her to go along with him and know what he's seeing from her rather than be twitchy all the time and paranoid of her own shadow.

Next up is the Varia Arc. It's going to be a lot longer than the 3-chapter Mukuro Arc, trust me on that. The Future Arc will probably be the longest yet, but we'll talk about that when we get there.

Last segment is a tiny blurb featuring Tsuna's thoughts. Really playing up the empathy part of Hyper Intuition here, but hey, this is fanfiction, right?

Please feel free to leave comments on what you think about this chapter and/or any problems you see in the writing. We appreciate your help and support!

**QUESTION: **Last time, most people said they'd like to see small segments of other character's POVs. Which character(s) would you be most interested in and why?

Till next time,

XxZuiliu


	4. 01: 4 Never Broken

"_Voi! What are you doing up here? Shouldn't you be down there with those other brats?"_

_Cold, cold, moon. _

_Cold, cold, wind. _

_Cold, cold, night._

_The numbness brought on by the chill was a welcome reprieve from the burning pain. If only it could freeze the pains of the heart, too; even for the barest of moments in this pit of eternal suffering –_

_Fool; I was such a fool to have naively thought we could-_

"_VOI! ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING?"_

_Yes._

_No._

_Maybe._

_Cold, cold, cold-_

"_ANSWER ME, GODDAMNIT!"_

_Gold eyes. No sign of the usual cruelty or superiority, but sharply narrowed in indignant rage and fury. A gloved mechanical hand grasping the front of my collar, bodily lifting me from my seat on the rooftop –and I let him._

_I was so cold._

"_This is all there is to you?" The silver-haired assassin all but snarled, his tone vicious and biting; cutting into me like burning whips, flaying open skin and drawing beaded blood. "So you're going to give up?! Just like that? One single death amongst us –and now you're falling to pieces about it?"_

_He doesn't know. _

_Why would he? _

_(It's not a single death. It's not the first time. He doesn't _know._)_

_He hadn't been the one standing back to back with him as the tides turned against us in less than a second. He hadn't been the one pushed out of the way at the last moment, away from a killing blow. He hadn't been the one completely useless as the bomb detonated and engulfed everything in a scorching inferno of destruction, shoved into a place that provided the best refuge in the heat of battle._

_I still remember the feel of his blood on my skin and fire in my veins as the world around us was incinerated._

_I remember blood._

_I remember pain._

_I remember darkness._

_And waking up._

_Realizing that he was dead._

_(Again.)_

_Realizing that I just as good as killed him with my own two hands. What was to stop me from killing everyone else the same way, through my own uselessness?_

_The blood eventually disappeared as flesh wounds healed and scars sank into bone, but the sharp pain remained. And with time, the fire from the pain disappeared, and the cold settled in. Cold, cold, cold-_

_It was so, so cold._

_What use am I? Knowing what is to come, yet failing, _failing–

"_I'm disgusted," He dropped me; I crumpled listlessly. "Weak. _You _should've been the one to die, not him."_

_Yes._

_Yes, he was absolutely right-_

"_But whatever he saw in you that possessed him to save you –fuck, I just don't see it! How can he sacrifice himself for some pathetic trash like you? You, acting like this –this is spitting on his sacrifice! He didn't save you since you have all the usefulness of a rock, goddamnit!"_

_I'm sorry._

_But I just._

_Can't._

_Take._

_This._

_Anymore._

_I'm not cut out for this. I'm not cut out for this I'm not cut out for fighting and killing and seeing my friends die again and again and again over and over and over forever and ever and ever-_

"_HE DIDN'T SAVE YOU FOR YOU TO DIE!"_

_I inhaled sharply, breath caught in my throat._

"…_. You just as good as killed him, Tsubaki. So take responsibility and _live, _not as an empty husk marching off to die as cannon fodder but live for both of yourselves! Fuck, weren't you the one who said 'To die in battle is inevitable, but to die in vain is inexcusable?' Are you going to make it so that he died in vain? ARE YOU? BECAUSE THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE DOING RIGHT NOW, SHITHEAD!"_

… _No._

_No._

_Can't._

_Can't give up._

_Not yet._

_Not ever._

"_Now that's more like it," there was a grin on Squalo's face as I shakily got to my feet again, fire flushing out the cold in my veins and steel in my eyes. "Varia debt or not, if you keel over just like this –I swear I'll _end_ you, Tsubaki."_

"… _Thank you."_

_Not used to dealing with gratitude, the silver-haired man simply scowled and scoffed, awkwardly shifting to the side as I walked past him._

"_Tch." He snapped irritably, falling into step beside me as I headed inside the mansion again, "For offering to kill you?"_

"_No." Thank you. For reminding me that now was no time for a breakdown, for self-pity, for surrendering to fickle fates –and, teasingly, "As if you'd kill me, anyways."_

"_VOI! Want me to throw you off the rooftop?! You wouldn't be acting tough, then."_

_Familiar banter as we strode together, as we returned to the halls, as we proceeded down the stairs. Down where the others were, so I could apologize for my behavior. Down where _he _was –where his not-quite-cold corpse was, so I could pay my respects during the funeral, and not over his grave. It wouldn't be fair to him._

_Squalo slanted another look at me as we walked down the velvet carpet._

"… _I'll have you know it wasn't a joke. If you ever act like this again, I _will _kill you."_

_A twisted smile stole across my lips, knowing the meaning behind his words._

_No._

_I won't be useless anymore._

_I promise._

_I won't be protected anymore. I will protect you. All of you._

_This I swear._

…

…

…

"_Even if you kill me, even if I die… even if I die a thousand times over…" Small smile, etched with determination and laced with a bitterness that no one will ever understand. "Do not presume that death will stop me. Ever."_

…

…

…

_I won't give up._

_I won't break._

_No matter how many times I fail._

_No matter how many times I fall._

_I will not falter._

_Never again._

…

* * *

Cabbages.

They were on sale. There was a nice deal for buying cabbages today, and this particular supermarket always had the best prices in town. It'd been so long since I'd last eaten cabbages in Namimori –some sukiyaki sounded nice, even if it was made by my hand and not by Nana's.

I'd only wanted to buy some cabbages.

"Oh, you're one of Tsuna's friends, aren't you? I remember you coming over for tea that afternoon! When will you stop by again? I'm sure Tsuna and the others will be delighted to see you."

Nana's eyes were as warm as always, the bright smile on her face genuinely kind and caring. It was an expression that I both wanted and didn't want to see –it reminded me of what I longed for, but also reminded me of what I lost. It was a bittersweet feeling, almost, but fleeting enough as I regained my composure and shoved the emotions into a little box in a corner of my mind.

This wasn't what I came out here for.

… Thank goodness Reborn wouldn't be watching. He'd be with Tsuna at school in this time of day.

"Hello," I greeted her politely, sketching a short bow for the sake of formality. "I'm afraid you're… mistaken. I'm only a passing acquaintance."

"Nonsense!" Nana laughed, the sound not unlike tinkling bells, "You don't need to be shy. Any of Tsuna's friends will always be welcome at our home."

This shouldn't be happening.

I shouldn't be talking to Nana, because Nana wasn't supposed to be involved in any of this –she wasn't supposed to be acting friendly towards an assassin, towards _me_, because this was _Nana _and Nana always had something about her that drew us out and made us-

"Ohh, cabbages? I was thinking of buying them, too! What do you think of having sukiyaki tonight with us?"

I'd only wanted to buy some cabbages.

Not _this._

Because.

Because.

Because Reborn doesn't trust me, Hayato doesn't trust me, Tsuna doesn't trust me, _no one trusts me_; and even though it makes perfect sense that none of them trust me and I _know _why they wouldn't, a part of me still clings to never-forgotten memories and lingering ghosts that don't exist anymore-

Stop.

Breathe.

Listen.

Nana is talking again. There's no blood flecking her lips, no unnatural pallor in her skin, no light of panic in her eyes. So get a hold of yourself and focus on what she's saying before you lose track of the conversation and she notices something wrong with you.

"-prefer using this brand, usually. Tsuna always seems to like sukiyaki better with-"

It doesn't matter if you remember that time when they slipped poison into the food supplies. That Nana took a taste of dinner while she was cooking to ascertain the flavor –and collapsed to the ground mere moments later, choking on her own blood as the venom was released into her body.

She'd always been a tad too innocent, a tad too ignorant, a tad too trusting. It was a part of her character that was endearing almost as much as it was nerve-wracking for us.

"-but there's a sale going on for these today, too, so I-"

Some grocery trip this was turning out to be.

* * *

"_Why are you just sitting here, Tsubaki? Shouldn't you be out there with the boys?"_

_A small huff of laughter, a smile._

"_Not today, Nana. This is something they need to figure out for themselves."_

_The kindly woman returned the smile, a hundred times brighter than any smile I'd ever be able to muster up on my lips._

"_Why don't you join us in the kitchen, then? I'm sure Kyoko and Haru will be glad to have you join us today."_

_I gave a small start._

"_But I… I don't know how to cook."_

_The woman tittered with laughter._

"_Silly girl. How would you know how to cook if you never try and learn? I'll be teaching how to make sukiyaki today. It's not that hard once you know what to do. Won't you join us?"_

_A slim, dainty hand; free of blood and extended in invitation._

_I eyed it hesistantly for a moment, hope warring with indecision._

"_Are you sure?"_

"_Of course!"_

_I slowly reached out and took her hand._

"… _Okay, then."_

* * *

The kitchen in the Sawada household was exactly the same as I remembered it.

"Have you ever made sukiyaki before, Tsubaki?"

"Yes," I let my eyes run over the countertops, already catching sight of five different surveillance devices tucked into different corners. Of course. Reborn wouldn't settle for anything less, after all. "But I'm afraid it's been awhile since I've last cooked anything for myself."

"So your mother generally does the cooking, then?" Sweet, oblivious Nana. I shook my head and moved to join her in washing the cabbages. "I'd love to meet her sometime."

"You might have to wait a long time then," It wouldn't be hard to catch the sardonic note in my voice, and Reborn would've picked up the implication of my words in a heartbeat, but Nana bustled about as cheerily as ever.

"That so? I don't mind waiting, if she's on a business trip overseas," I froze as she reached out a hand, patting my cheek affectionately, "You're such a sweet girl, Tsubaki. I don't think Tsuna has ever tried helping me cook before!"

_A cold hand, drawing a trail of blood on my cheek before falling limply to the ground._

Surveillance. Reborn is watching. Always.

It was with that firm reminder that I forced a small smile onto my lips, trying to imitate 'sheepish' in front of the woman I'd once seen as mother.

"… You're too kind."

Nana hummed as she set about cooking, and it was all-too-easy to imagine that Kyoko and Haru were present as well. The kitchen was small, but it always seemed emptier without them. I could even hear their voices next to Nana's, a familiar diatribe that I was well-acquainted with.

Why did I come?

By all means, accompanying Nana on something even as mundane as a grocery trip –it was dangerous. Taking her up on her offer to make sukiyaki with her? Even more so.

So why did I come?

Was it loneliness? Nostalgia? Guilt?

Maybe, but not quite. Those were emotions that always weighed on my shoulders, but also something I'd learned to ignore, for the most part. Or at least put to the side so they wouldn't be an unnecessary interference. It might've been a factor, but it wouldn't be the reason why I'd nodded without thinking when Nana offered to cook together.

So why?

Slowly, I began slicing the tofu next to the sink.

"When will you start school in Namimori Middle?"

Nana seemed to be under the impression that I was a girl who just moved in to town, who happened to make friends with Tsuna and was invited over for tea that afternoon. But since I was so shy, Tsuna had trouble inviting me over again –and so she herself decided to take the initiative after she saw me picking through cabbages in the grocery store.

I didn't have the heart to correct her misinterpretations, but making assumptions like that…

"I won't be staying long in Namimori. This is only… temporary."

Temporary, fleeting, like all things inevitably were.

"Well," Nana turned towards me, a smile once more gracing her lips, "Don't you worry about that, Tsubaki. A friend of Tsuna's will always be welcome in this home."

Home.

Home, not house.

Why?

Nana was always too kind for her own good. It was a weakness. The sort of weakness that you hated for existing because it endangered them, but also a sort of weakness that you couldn't help but look upon fondly and treasure at the same time.

Stumbling out of the house, holding a plastic container of warm sukiyaki in my hands and a bag of groceries in the crook of my arm –every encounter with Nana was always like this; something akin to a dream. A dream that you regretted stepping out of, and a dream that you'd forever strive towards –and fail to reach.

_How many times will I fail?_

Morbid.

Don't think about it anymore.

I brushed past Tsuna with a small nod as we passed each other in the streets, Hayato bristling and scowling at me while Takeshi gave a jaunty wave and smiled. Reborn's expression was as unreadable as ever –Tsuna's 'eep' continued to ring in my head as I strode down the sidewalk and turned the corner. Walking home from school… they looked so natural, so _right _together. Would I ever get a chance to walk next to them again?

_So many people walking along the streets. Isn't it strange? I don't think I'd care if any of them died. _

… _If I was given an offer to slaughter every single one of them, in exchange for protecting my family… would I accept the offer? Would I hesitate?_

_Decisions, decisions, decisions._

Slip a key into the lock, swing open the door, step into the empty apartment-

Home sweet home.

I wandered into my own tiny kitchen, letting the bag of groceries drop to the ground, setting the sukiyaki from Nana on the countertop. Somehow, I didn't feel hungry anymore.

Might as well get other things done, then.

I slipped out my cell phone, flipping through the text messages I'd received after putting up a notice in my clientele 'network.'

_Re: Liver Auction. [28 New Messages]_

_Re: Kidney Auction. [41 New Messages]_

_Re: Lung Auction. [36 New Messages]_

"Birds… so much more useful in death than you ever were in life," I mused to myself, checking the various numbers that were being offered for fresh organs. That particular market had always been highly profitable. It was also something that Tsuna and the others had always been uncomfortable with –yet another part of the Vongola business that I always volunteered to take care of for them.

Such was the nature of the mafia world we lived in.

"Oh? What's this?"

Another new message flashing up at me from the digital screen. It was another set of new job offers from the Assassins' Guild –general assassinations were listed on top, and special requests for certain assassins were located in another section on the bottom. Specific requests usual paid a lot more than the average mission, but there was also the risk of the client setting out a trap for a specific assassin.

I'd received my fair share of requested missions; enough to know the difference.

But this one, it was… a special missive, sent separate from the usual mailing list, and that was enough to give me pause for a moment.

_Re: Job Request from Vongola Constructions_

It was entirely possible that Reborn had already reported my presence in Namimori to the Vongoloa's top brass, and this was their way of drawing me out of the town –away from Tsuna. It was also possible that Reborn determined that I was a threat and needed to be taken out –and preferred to do so in a manner that would be kept entirely unknown to Tsuna. If none of the aforementioned, there was also a chance that Reborn had advised for me to be monitored by Vongola personnel for a certain period of time –I was, for the most part, an unknown element to him.

Admittedly, it was also possible that I was overthinking things and this was only a job request.

Which wasn't likely.

Yes, Vongola also hired its fair share of freelance assassins for certain _sensitive _missions, but Vongola's reputation ensured that they always hired the best of the best. I was slowly building a reputation for myself, more or less, but I was still far from being one of the 'popular' assassins to contract for a job.

I stared contemplatively at the innocent notification blinking back at me from the glowing screen.

I could reject the offer. It would be entirely within reason to do so –members of the Assassins' Guild were allowed to reject missions from clients without negative consequences. Technically speaking, of course; blackmail and bribery from the client were still fair game. But if I suspected that Vongola planned to use this mission to kill me, then I could reject it here and now and prevent that from becoming reality.

I could reject it.

Or I could accept.

_Decisions, decisions, decisions._

_Standing at crossroads. What path would you choose? What path leads to the ending you desire?_

* * *

_He didn't trust her. _

_Not even if Reborn was the one who brought her here, who cajoled the Juudaime into giving her permission to stay in Namimori. Reborn was someone he trusted, whose decisions he supported –for the most part, at least, until now._

_He didn't trust her, because she was an assassin. _

_And while he himself was somewhat of an assassin, too, he was more like a mercenary who took on all sorts of odd jobs –guard duty at a fancy party, acting as a pianist stand-in, delivering packages all over Italy. Although the label of an assassin could be applied to him as well for his skill set, he wasn't an assassin in the truest sense of the word; he was many things, but he wasn't a hired hand whose sole purpose in life was to kill. _

_He knew assassins; soulless creatures that held no qualms about turning on allies in the blink of an eye. The angry scar running down his back could attribute to that well enough, when he'd been naïve enough to trust that friendly demeanor and blinding smile._

_It was said that freelance assassins never betrayed anyone. _

_Hayato wholeheartedly agreed with that statement, since assassins had no loyalty to speak of in the first place. It was what made them dangerous –this sort of careless, whimsical loyalty._

_So no, Hayato didn't trust this 'Tsubaki' one bit. He'd thought they'd seen the last of her when she left while they challenged Rokudo Mukuro a few days ago –good riddance; he'd been glad to see her go. Except, clearly, that hadn't been the case._

_It wasn't often that Hayato questioned Reborn's judgment, but in this situation –why would the greatest hitman in the world permit her to stay in Namimori? He didn't see the logic in it. Sure, the Juudaime now held a favor from her, but couldn't Reborn see that the presence of this assassin was a danger to the Juudaime's safety?_

_He knew assassins of her kind._

_When not on missions, they looked every bit the normal, average citizen. They could even act normal, too –some were better at the act than others, and Tsubaki was, to his chagrin, an excellent actress. But in another sense, the act was about as subtle as a wolf pulling on sheep's clothing. Juudaime was too trusting for his own good, even if it was –admittedly– part of what had pulled Hayato to him in the first place._

_Regardless. _

_No matter how good the act, no matter how normal a cloak these assassins tried to hide themselves under, there was always a certain quality of theirs that was impossible to hide, given that you knew what to look for._

_Some use excessive emotions to cover up their thoughts. Some use none, the perfect picture of complete apathy. Some strike a careful balance between the two–_

_But that's not what you look for._

_Some carry weapons in open sight. Some carry none. Some hide knives everywhere on their body–_

_That's not what you look for, either._

_What you look for is this:_

_Look at their eyes. If you can't read them, not like the Juudaime or the baseball freak or the boxing freak or even the stupid cow –that's how you know they're dangerous, because only _things_ that have no moral boundaries restraining their actions reflect nothing in their eyes._

_(Tsubaki's eyes are dark and cold.)_

_Look at their hands. If you don't see calluses or blisters or scars or even the tiniest blemish on flawless skin –that's how you know they're dangerous, because only an assassin would take the pains to remove every single one of those telltale signs of combat from their bodies, in an effort to appear 'normal.'_

_(Tsubaki's hands are perfectly smooth.)_

_Then you _look _at them, and you wonder how it's possible that you missed it before._

_Because for assassins, no matter how skilled they are at hiding, no matter how well they disguise themselves –it's impossible for them to erase the blood that stains their soulless selves a pitch-dark black._

_When Hayato sees Tsubaki, he can see what Nana sees. A young girl perhaps a little older than her own son, introverted and awkward but charming in her own way. He can also see what his Juudaime sees – a girl who also comes from the mafia not unlike Hayato himself, just another unknown who barged into his increasingly chaotic life._

_But what Hayato sees first in his eyes before seeing any of this is:_

_A bloody creature who will not hesitate to kill someone if it means that they'll benefit from their death._

…

_Hayato does not trust assassins._

_He learns from his mistakes._

_So._

_He will not trust Tsubaki, because even if his Juudaime cannot see it –Hayato can see her clearly for what she is, and what he sees unnerves him._

* * *

.

...

.

* * *

The Other Author's Notes:

Hi.

This is Zuiyun, hijacking Zuiliu's account.

(If anyone happens to be wondering –yes, I'm the second author of this story, mentioned earlier in previous chapters. Nice to meet you all.)

Zuiliu is going to be out of town for a bit, and since we had most of this chapter written out already, I went ahead and took the liberty of finishing the remaining portion. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a review or PM Zuiliu's account, since I'll be floating on here for a bit (until Zuiliu comes back, at least). Any glaring writing mistakes and/or problems in the text, please notify me of as well.

The part with OC and Squalo at the beginning is sort of to 'celebrate' starting the Ring Battle Arc (though OC won't actually be part of it lol. At least, not in the usual way of most KHR stories). This chapter feels like… filler, almost? Meh, probably explains why we let this gather dust for a bit, aside from school busywork. xD Important filler, at any rate.

Last segment features Gokudera's POV. Figured since Gokudera was part of the mafia long before meeting Tsuna, the having-bad-experience-with-assassins thing makes sense, and hopefully explains a little of his animosity towards OC.

Next chapter _will_ –if nothing goes insanely off-track– include Varia involvement. Fingers crossed for that, anyone?

**QUESTION:** Any guesses on what the OC's flame attribute is?

Zuiyun out.


	5. 01: 5 Under Scrutiny

"What'cha doin' here on your own, little lady?"

I wasn't fond of crowded areas.

Admittedly, they could be pretty useful at times –handy for camouflage and such– but at the same time, there was a legitimate _reason _why I disliked being surrounded by people en masse like this. It wasn't any sort of unease born from paranoia, not really. After all, I was long past the point of feeling vulnerable when standing by myself in the world.

They say that there's safety in numbers. The more the better.

I disagree.

How do you expect to run from danger if there are people swarming everywhere around you? How can you escape when you're blocked on all sides by panic and hysteria?

"… Hey, are you ignoring me?"

Not for the first time, I wished that my contact for this job would hurry up and come. I didn't like airports. It was perfectly normal for all sorts of people to be gathered together in an airport, which meant that it wasn't as easy to spot someone out of place. There were entirely too many loose ends floating around and not enough security checkpoints to cover them all. Granted, the security measures in place weren't much of a challenge to any decent hitman in this day and age; but the point still stands. This was precisely why most mafia families tended to own and operate private methods of transportation, instead of going along with public sources.

But as I was currently unaffiliated with any famiglia, public sources were my only option of travel. Unfortunately.

"OI!"

I finally slanted a look towards the man towering over me. Designer clothing –most likely born to a wealthy family. There was no musculature on his body at all, nothing that spoke of any combat experience. His blue eyes reeked of arrogance and pride; the kind that came from the confidence of having everything he wanted in life handed to him on a silver platter. Definitely not mafia. In all likeliness, he was just another rich playboy wanting to have some fun with a girl, trying to find something to amuse himself with as he waited in an airport.

Boring.

I snapped my fingers in front of his face, flickers of flames thrumming under my skin as I executed the simple movement. Instantaneously, those blue eyes gained a dazed, vacant look as he stumbled back.

"Oh, uh… sorry for bothering you, miss…"

He shook his head roughly, as if trying to get rid of the last vestiges of a faint headache, before stumbling off into the crowd again. I watched him go silently, surveying my surroundings again. Luckily, his actions hadn't attracted too much attention –most people going in and out of airports were on somewhat of a strict schedule, all of them too absorbed with their own matters instead of paying attention to what was occurring around them.

Most people, that is.

"That was an interesting technique."

Oregano was a sweet girl. All cordial business and curt tones in her 'business mode.'

"Just a parlor trick," I shrugged bonelessly, knowing that her sharp eyes would follow and make note of the fluid movement. Even though she provided good support in combat situations, her job first and foremost was that of an analyst on the field.

"Follow me."

I'd accepted the job request from CEDEF because I hadn't seen any other way out of it. To refuse would risk seeming like I was purposely putting up opposition against the Vongola, which would trigger the alarm bells in Reborn's head. Not only that, but it would also make for a sticky situation in the future, what with the favor I still owed Tsuna and all. Then there was also the fact that, should I refuse, the administration in the Assassins' Guild wouldn't be pleased, considering the position that the Vongola held in the mafia world and all –and that would doubtlessly put a hamper on my plans in the imminent future.

On the other hand.

If I accepted the job –it was also an opportunity. An opportunity to establish bonds and to show them I could be a useful ally. A chance to convince them that I would be someone worth keeping an eye on instead of eliminating, even as nothing but another tool to use if they weren't quite willing to offer me their trust.

… Of course, that was in consideration if this entire job wasn't a set-up to trap me in the first place.

The drive from the airport to the familiar building where CEDEF made most of their business agreements didn't take very long –Oregano hadn't spoken to me at all, and I made no effort to spark conversation, either. If I was the one who instigated conversation, then who was to say that it wasn't the case of an assassin looking to coax information out of a CEDEF member? Who was to say that it wasn't the case of an assassin attempting to get friendly with someone to lower their guard?

Oregano had always been a little on the twitchy side.

… Not that it wasn't a good thing, really. Excessive paranoia, that is.

How did the saying go again?

_It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you._

* * *

"_Well?"_

_It was a sensation not unlike being hit with a bundle of bricks, right at the instant when you were least prepared for impact. For a terrifying moment, everything went mind-numbingly blank as I _stared_ at the little infant-who-wasn't-really-an-infant in front of me._

_My mouth opened, but no words came to my throat._

"_You seem surprised by this. I would've thought better of you, Tsubaki."_

'_Surprised?'_

_That…_

_Understatement of the century, right there._

'_Surprised' didn't even _begin _to cover what I was feeling right now, because–_

"_Are you going to refuse?" Reborn's eyes glittered dangerously, but we both knew it wasn't a threat, not really. "Tsuna needs your strength. Will you abandon him in this time of need?"_

_That… was a low blow._

_Unsurprising that he chose this tangent to try and convince me –out of every argument he could've chosen to stand on, this was the one that would be most effective– but then again, considering who he was…_

_He knew perfectly well that those words were both painful and jarring._

_But._

_I couldn't… not this, I… heck, it wasn't supposed to be me! When had things gone so wrong? Nothing was going according to plan anymore, and this was just plain crazy, it was just… just…_

"_You know how strong they are. It's very likely that Tsuna will die if he cannot prevail this time."_

_... Why can't anything work out right?_

_Again, Reborn stepped forward, raising his hand. The metallic object in the center of his palm gleamed, catching the dull glow of the street lamp._

_I swallowed roughly._

_When had things gone so wrong? When had I messed up so badly? Was there any way to fix this anymore?_

"_I ask you again, under the name of candidate Sawada Tsunayoshi: Will you accept?"_

…

_The half-ring glittered coldly under the flickering light._

* * *

CEDEF is an abbreviation for Constulenza Esterna Della Famiglia, the 'External Advisors of the Family.'

I remember days of working in CEDEF, along CEDEF, and even that one time against CEDEF.

The latter had been… a particularly memorable experience, to say the least. It'd also marked the beginning of the development of a healthy respect for the leader of CEDEF, Sawada Iemitsu –the man who was feared as the Vongola's Young Lion, and the man who was Tsuna's father.

It wasn't unusual for CEDEF to occasionally contract 'outsiders' on their jobs. CEDEF itself was a relatively small organization; considering all the responsibilities they had, it just wasn't possible for the scant few members to be capable of running all the missions that had to be completed. In general, the more sensitive, high-risk ones were kept for CEDEF members, while others of lower importance used hired hands.

So this was… definitely unusual.

I kept my features carefully blank as I set down the manila folders in my hands on the glossy table.

"This isn't an assassination."

Curious. Curious, curious. Oregano was usually the one handing out missions to 'outsiders.' Who would've thought that Iemitsu himself would decide to take up this task?

Then again.

This certainly wasn't the run-of-the-mill mission, not by a long shot.

"The culprits behind this theft are assassins," Iemitsu folded his arms, a hard look in his eyes, "We've decided that having an assassin's perspective on matters would be… useful. That's why you're here."

… And they wanted to hire _me_ to be on the team in charge of retrieving it? A relatively unknown assassin just beginning to make her footprints in the mafia underworld? An unknown variable that'd approached the Vongola Decimo candidate?

…

Curious.

"You will follow Basil and Oregano on this mission," At his prompting, the aforementioned duo stepped forth. I glimpsed a hint of unease in Basil's form before he straightened and it was gone. "We believe that it was taken by-"

Curious, curious.

"Are you going to kill me?"

One leg tossed over another, elbow propped on a knee and resting the side of my face in my hand. By acting so brazenly in front of him, I was taking a risk –what if he read the challenge in my body language as a sign of defiance against Vongola? But, if my gamble paid off–

Iemitsu arched an eyebrow, a dark note underlining bone-chilling words when he spoke again.

"That was uncalled for, _girl."_

I slipped on a careless smile over my lips. Even though I was constantly worried that Reborn would see through my act, I was confident enough in my abilities to fool Iemitsu –particularly in lieu of the fact that this was our 'first' meeting, when he hadn't yet had the chance to familiarize himself with any of my habits.

"I'm not an idiot, sir. Why are you involving me in such a sensitive mission to retrieve one of CEDEF's prized possessions? Where does this confidence of yours come from? How do you know I won't betray you?" I laced my fingers under my chin, leaning forward and ignoring how Oregano's hand crept towards the gun at her side, "Even if you only wanted an assassin's opinion on this mission, I'm sure there are plenty more of my co-workers from the Guild who you'd trust more than me. No, it's not quite an issue of trust here –is this a test? What did the number one hitman in the world tell you for you to pull me on a mission like this?"

It was dangerous to challenge Iemitsu; of that I had no doubt. But at the same time, my words hadn't hinted towards discontent with the Vongola –merely the paranoia that an assassin happened to harbor towards their employer. More than that, my words showed him I wasn't a simple tool that came with an instruction manual of 'point and kill.' This was what made humans invaluable, an ability to analyze and think their way through a situation.

This _was _a test; I was becoming sure of it.

If Iemitsu wanted to kill me, he could've had Oregano pull her gun on me when she led me to a taxi at the airport.

If Iemitsu wanted to kill me, he could've led me into an ambush instead of a conference room.

If Iemitsu wanted to kill me, why would he bother coming in person and spending all this time to give me the details of a mission?

… Most likely, this was a test.

A test to see if I was useful –to see if I was worth keeping close, to see if the favor that I promised Tsuna would be worth anything in the future. To see if I could be –potentially– aligned with Vongola interests, similar to how Reborn affiliated himself with the Vongola Famiglia.

I needed to show him that I would make a good ally.

"… I doubt that you had anything stolen in the first place," Iemitsu was a master at hiding his emotions, though the same couldn't be said for Basil –judging by that small twitch the boy failed to hide. "This entire thing is a set-up, isn't it? You want to test me. By any chance, would this have anything to do with what occurred as an unfortunate side-effect of my last mission in Namimori, Japan?"

There. What would Iemitsu make of my words?

I purposely kept my body lax as the room was plunged into complete silence.

Then Iemitsu laughed.

"Hah, Reborn hadn't been lying when he said you were a sharp one."

_Reborn? When? What made him come to that conclusion? Was there anything I did in Namimori that made him think that…?_

"Since you've been so forthright with me, then, I'll also be blunt with you." A grin cracked over Iemitsu's lips as he slipped into a faux-casual slouch, "I'm trying to decide if it's in Vongola's best interests that you're alive or dead. But at the moment, I'm thinking that you'd be more useful alive and kicking. You've got guts, talking to me like that. I approve."

… Iemitsu had always been this kind of person. The gamble paid off –even though it wasn't much of a gamble and more of a decision partially based on what I knew of his personality.

"I'm so glad you do," I said dryly, not skipping a beat. "Your approval comes as a great honor to me. Does that mean the woman standing behind me is going to take that gun away from my head?"

The sharp inhale behind me confirmed what I'd been suspecting through the entire exchange.

"Relax, Oregano." Iemitsu waved a hand lazily at the brunette lurking in the shadows of the room, an amused glint in his eyes, "Was she really that obvious?"

"Well, she didn't exactly try to hide her intent," I shrugged, the movement as natural as natural could be.

"Hm. We'll have to work on that then, Oregano."

"Yes, sir."

"Now," The tall man turned his attention on me again, "Just because I personally approve doesn't mean that you're-"

None of us had been expecting it, when the world flashed white.

* * *

_I blinked, and the world flashed white._

_Cold._

_Burning._

_Pain._

_Oh gods. Oh gods. Omigoshisthatmyfacewhyisitnothingbut__**red**__helpIcan'tburning-_

"… _H-help… help me…"_

_That… that isn't my voice._

_It's his voice. The voice of a man-I-used-to-know-kind-of-but-not-very-well. Maybe. I don't know. How can I know? I don't recognize him anymore. There's nothing I can try to identify him with, anyways._

_How can you identify someone without skin?_

"… _help…"_

_It's not my voice._

_Are my lips moving?_

_What?_

_I dunno. I can't hear. There's a frog in my throat._

… _Ahahaha, did you hear? There's a frog in my throat. No, I can't hear. That's why I asked you, dummy. Did you hear?_

_What?_

_What?_

_What was it you said?_

_I can't hear._

_But I can move._

_I'm standing, stumbling, something resembling zombie flesh is clawing at my leg lalala-_

_I'll find someone, then come back._

_Yes, that's what I'll do._

_But hang on. Wait._

_What if no one recognizes me? Silly me, silly me, silly ol' me… I can't even see my face anymore, why would anyone else see if there's nothing to see? Silly, silly, me. There's nothing but red._

_Hm._

_That might be a bit of a problem, actually. But don't worry, I'll find help for allll of us. Yes, yes, because I promised to protect you all, didn't I? You're all just tired and injured, that's why you're all lying on the ground like that. I mean, why would I survive if all of you are dead, right? Right?_

_Right?_

_But wait._

_Here's a mirror, mirror, mirror. I can't see my face, face, face. There's nothing but red, red, red._

_Hm._

_That might be a bit of a problem. But don't worry. I'll get us out of this mess, that's what I'll do! Just wait a liiiitle moment while I try to think of something… wow, Lambo, you're right! Thinking hurts! But lemme thiiiink…_

_Ah-ha!_

_Yes, yes, I've got an idea!_

_It's brilliant. Listen._

_Can I borrow your face?_

… _What do you mean, no? I'm not delusional! Can't you see we need help?! I'm the only one with authority here! What? You're part of the ones helping us? No you aren't! Why you little- STOP! BODY BAGS ARE FOR THE DEAD! THEY'RE NOT DEAD, LEAVE THEM ALONE!_

… _Stop._

_Just… stop._

… _Yes, I've regained my senses. Don't worry, I'll take care of things from here. I'm fine. I'm _fine. _You've done more than enough, thank you very much._

_So._

_GIVE ME YOUR FACE!_

…

* * *

"I hate bombs."

Handheld, minimized explosions like the dynamite sticks that Hayato uses, those I'm fine with… but throw anything large-scale in my direction that makes everything in one's vision go white, and I feel a sudden, _violent_ urge to go out and kill something. Bad memories, born of guilt and horror and shame in a single moment of weakness.

I quickly repressed the grimace threatening to surface on my lips.

_Smile, smile. Don't think about it anymore. You won't repeat that mistake again._

I snapped my fingers again, watching as the space shimmered and everything collapsed and the rubble came down safely around us.

An explosion, one that had been targeting Iemitsu and his subordinates. My presence was most likely only a coincidence, not the cause. After all, I was nothing noteworthy at the moment, and this building _was _known as a location that CEDEF members often frequented.

I stewed over the fact for a moment, ignoring the waves of dust sent flying into the air as rubble hit the ground.

This explosion –it wasn't as bad as the one buried deep, deep in my memories, _nothing _could compare to that– this one was meant to score flesh wounds on Iemitsu and his team. A mere inconvenience, nothing more. After all, it would take something much more destructive than this to take him down, which begged the question of-

"_What the fuck was that?"_

"You tell me," I muttered softly under my breath, watching a positively _livid _Iemitsu whip out his cell phone and begin dialing and calling, jabbering away in rapid Italian.

What was going on? I had no clue.

True, Iemitsu _was _constantly being targeted by others due to his position as the head of CEDEF, but something like this seemed to be a little overkill, right? It was so… _flashy. _Large-scale explosions were equivalent to blatant displays of power, another intimidation tactic. They were _not _useful methods assassination.

So why…?

"Thank god we're the only ones in this building today," Oregano murmured shakily, not seeming to quite have registered my presence next to her at the moment. "If there'd been civilians around here, too…"

That would've been… bloody.

Oregano had always been worried about civilian casualties during the missions we ran together so long ago.

"Just got in touch with Turmeric," Iemitsu snapped his phone shut, frowning. "They're already on it. So far, it appears to be an inside job, but-"

The phone rang, interrupting him mid-sentence, and he flipped it open again. Basil hung at his side pensively.

Inside job.

Turmeric was good at tracking –but if it was an inside job, then _who? _I didn't recall any CEDEF members who became traitors, but the information I had was always far from perfect, seeing that it was constantly subject to change. But… if it really was an inside job… then perhaps…?

My eyes caught the change. How Iemitsu first paled, before his eyes hardened at whatever the other person over the phone told him.

"… Are you sure?"

I ducked my head, quickly feigning avid interest in my fingernails when Oregano cut me a harsh look for 'eavesdropping.'

It took awhile before Iemitsu lowered his phone again. The look on his face this time was heavy, contemplative –and then his expression cleared as it always did when an idea came to his mind.

Then he turned towards me.

"Well. Guess I might end up hiring you after all, Tsubaki."

* * *

_Iemitsu's first thought when he saw the little girl that Oregano led into the room was, 'She's so young.'_

_For an assassin living on their own in the blood pit they called a Guild –heck, the little girl couldn't have been too older than his own Tuna-fish!_

_If it hadn't been for his experience and familiarity with dangerous people like Lal and Colonello and Reborn, he might've gone along with the initial desire to dismiss her entirely. Okay, so maybe he wouldn't have dismissed her entirely –but still._

_If Reborn of all people told him to keep an eye on her, then it was a _fact _that there was something dangerous about her. Something that truly marked her as 'assassin' and not 'child,' not something that floated in between the wide chasm separating the two labels. How else could she have caught the baby hitman's attention? Why else would Reborn add on to his words that it would be perfectly acceptable to kill her if she showed herself to be a possible threat?_

_(Come to think of it, why did Reborn want his second opinion on the girl, anyways?)_

_Iemitsu was both pleasantly surprised and delighted when the quiet girl finally showed a backbone halfway into the meeting._

_Interesting._

_Interesting, interesting._

_Interesting, how no word from her mouth was directly challenging the Vongola, blatantly opposing them in some manner. That detail alone meant that her words had been carefully chosen beforehand. Any other assassin, however inadvertently, would've expressed their discontent in some manner offending Vongola if they hadn't 'rehearsed' their words prior to this meeting._

_Did she have prior experience with the Vongola then? There certainly hadn't been anything that hinted at anything like that in her history. Maybe their intel was just incomplete, then? It could be true, freelance assassins were always notoriously difficult to form profiles on from scratch._

_But even so, nothing quite explained her reaction when that explosion took them all off guard._

_The girl had reacted even faster than Iemitsu himself in throwing a shimmering barrier over them._

_(Mist flames, maybe? Oregano had mentioned something about the girl –Tsubaki– doing a little 'parlor trick' at the airport.)_

_The kind of speed with which she reacted –it spoke of intense combat, the kind of fast-paced fighting in which even a single moment of distraction could prove fatal. The lack of hesitation –if she didn't have prior experience with the Vongola, if she didn't view them as benefactors or friends of some sort… what could explain that lack of hesitation in her movements when she threw up that barrier?_

_Iemitsu was beginning to see why Reborn had taken an interest in this girl and called him in for it._

_So when Turmeric had called him back and told him the bombing was confirmed to be an inside job –a Vongola inside job not on CEDEF's side, but on the Varia's side; when Turmeric told him that he received reports of the Vongola half-rings being stolen roughly half an hour before the bomb detonated on his side to delay his return to CEDEF headquarters…_

_Maybe it was something resembling part-intuition that had Iemitsu extending Tsubaki an offer to join them on the job as he prepared to leave._

_(And oh, the irony of this turn of events was killing him.)_

_Iemitsu didn't have Hyper Intuition, not like his son did. But something in his instincts had compared the little assassin to Tsuna the first moment he'd laid eyes on her –and wasn't that strange? That even though he knew perfectly well in his mind that this bloody creature could prove to be a threat to Vongola, and yet he still saw her as a child? That even though he knew it was an assassin by trade, and something in him still wanted to give this girl the benefit of the doubt?_

… _How very, very interesting._

_Like Reborn, he'd also heard rumors of the Stray assassin, a girl who staunchly refused to align herself with any faction. The very same Stray who'd apparently agreed to give a favor to the future Vongola Decimo –his little Tuna-fish._

_It stood to reason that Iemitsu was beginning to doubt the truth of those rumors now._

_But, if he wanted to confirm what he suspected for himself, if he wanted a snowball's chance in hell of proving it all to Reborn when the hitman asked him what he thought-_

_Well, he'd start with observing her on this mission. _

_It wasn't often that Iemitsu gambled like this, but something told him that Tsubaki wouldn't disappoint._

_He'd take a risk._

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

The Other Author's Notes (Again):

So, I've got good news, and I've got bad news.

The good news is, I finally found where Zuiliu was stashing all the pre-written/typed snippets for this story. Yaaaay. The bad news is, Zuiliu is currently stuck in the airport. Curses for bad weather.

There's no Varia involvement in this chapter, sorry. I miscalculated, and moved that portion out of this chapter while I was going over things and typing up the giant missing blanks in the Word document, aka the conversation with Iemitsu. Maybe next time?

YES, the half-rings held by CEDEF have been stolen by the Varia. I wonder why? (whistles)

… Also, if anyone got a little disturbed by the part where the OC went kinda crazy in the flashback to a bombing incident –I have no shame in admitting I got kinda disturbed by that too when I read it. Anyone on the same page as me?

Zuiliu scares me sometimes, really.

**QUESTION: **Which Varia member are you most interested to see featured in one of OC's previous "loops?"

Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Zuiyun out.


	6. 01: 6 Taking the Job

Stolen.

The Vongola half-rings had been _stolen._

And by the Varia, no less.

… I'd like to say this entire situation came across as a genuine surprise to me, but at the same time, I really couldn't find it in myself to be shocked by this turn of events. It definitely sounded like something the Varia would pull off at this point –Levi and his men, most likely, though I wouldn't put it past Squalo to be the culprit behind this act, either.

He was, after all, the one who'd tracked Basil all the way to Namimori to obtain the half-rings for Xanxus; back when the other Varia members had been led on a merry chase all over the Italian countryside by the rest of CEDEF acting as other decoys to give Basil more time to escape.

To think that there would come a day when the roles would be reversed, when the role of chasers fell onto CEDEF's shoulders…

(It was both an amusing and sobering thought.)

"Missed them," there was a frown on Oregano's face as she stepped out of the building, "They already split up and left again just before we got here. If this keeps up, we're not going to have enough manpower to devote to field searching, sir."

The members of the Varia vastly outnumbered those of CEDEF. I wasn't surprised that she arrived at this conclusion so quickly–

"No," Iemitsu crossed his arms, "They won't continue splitting up forever. They _can't. _Whoever stole the rings, their goal will be to deliver them to Xanxus in the end-" here his lips twisted over the name, "-and tell me, where do you think Xanxus will be waiting?"

"… Sir?"

"Master, you can't mean… Varia's headquarters?" Basil was a little quicker on the uptake than Oregano, blue eyes widening as he figured out what Iemitsu was implying with his words.

"But why would they return to their headquarters?" Oregano frowned, arguing against what her boss had suggested. "Isn't that a little too obvious?"

Iemitsu snorted.

"You've known Xanxus almost as long as I have. Can you honestly tell me that you think he'd lower himself to hiding it out in some run-down base instead of the official Varia Headquarters?"

Because Xanxus held a very unique brand of pride and arrogance in his bearings; that was a fact that I knew full well. I still remember how hard it'd been that time –that time when we needed to convince him to retreat to an all-but-forgotten base after the headquarters had been annihilated. Squalo had been badly injured in that battle; many had used it as an argument to try and convince Xanxus with –_"He's your vice-captain! The medical facilities there are his only chance of survival! Please, we have to move out of here or we'll all die when they attack again!"_

I still remembered that night, watching him toss another glass of burning liquor down his throat.

"_Tch, as if I needed his help against them." The empty cup was thrown against the ground, smashed into glittering shards that spilled everywhere over the carpet. "… Trash."_

_I stood there wordlessly, then spoke._

"_He's going to die for real, Xanxus."_

"_You too?" He let out a harsh bark of laughter, hand coming up and covering his eyes. "Shit, do you maggots even know why that base was abandoned in the first place? It was because nothing there could be fucking operated anymore that we left it to rot! And now you want to go back to that hellhole? Even assuming it's up and running –we're surrounded on all sides, Tsubaki. Don't tell me that you haven't even noticed that none of our scouts are coming back anymore?"_

…

_What was there to say to those words?_

"… _I've made up my mind a long time ago," the bottle of wine slammed on the table after he took another long drought, eyes blazing with anger and something akin to regret as his lips curled back into a sneer. "In this war, it's either fight and advance or retreat and die. If any of you shitty pieces of trash want to run away like cowards, do it on your own. I'll defend these headquarters by myself!"_

Stress, frustration, coupled with copious amounts of alcohol… a combination of those three factors had made Xanxus unusually talkative that night.

The next day, he'd given me an unintelligible grunt when he saw me pulling on my armor again, the closest gesture to approval that I ever saw coming from him. My fingers had tangled in his coat for a moment, in the brief one-and-a-half second that it took him to pass me by –and then the moment soon vanished and we were standing in blood on the battlefield.

We died fighting.

"-do you think, Tsubaki?"

Iemitsu. Varia. CEDEF's half-rings being stolen.

"I'm fine with it," I shrugged at Iemitsu's inquiry –less of an inquiry and more of an order, really. An order that any other freelance assassin would chafe at, but something I shrugged off easily. It was, after all, of utmost importance that CEDEF recover the rings to give to Tsuna and the others. Besides, even if other assassins would dislike being ordered around directly in this manner, they would still obey.

Iemitsu was the client; and a client's orders took precedence over all else for a freelance assassin.

"Right, then we'll send you on ahead. You'll follow Basil's lead, and Oregano and I will check the other route to Varia headquarters. I'll contact you if I find the Varia team and need backup. The same goes for you and Basil vice versa."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

"_Hey, look. It's that girl."_

"… _That's the girl who barely passed the test, right?"_

"_Yeah. Y'know, I actually thought she would've been taken out of the running entirely! She made it in? Seriously?"_

"_Hm, my thoughts exactly. That girl ain't Varia material at all…"_

_Whispers behind each corridor, everywhere I looked. Mocking laughter ringing in the halls, everywhere I turned. There was no reprieve, no escape from these contemptuous looks and judging sneers. _

… _So?_

_It didn't matter what they thought of me. It didn't matter that I only managed to pass the entry test into the Varia's ranks only by the skin of my teeth. It didn't matter, didn't matter, didn't matter…_

_If only I could convince myself of this._

"_How long are ya gonna pretend to be one of us, huh? You don't belong here, girl."_

_No. I don't. I don't belong here, do I? I know perfectly well that I'm not assassin material. I'm not much for participating in battles. My fighting skills are barely up to par, even –only enough to scrape by._

… _But that's exactly _why _I'm here._

_To learn._

_To learn how to fight; how to fight and kill as only a professional would know how to do so._

_Because I won't –can't– be protected by my family forever, not if I want to protect everyone around me._

_I could do this._

_It didn't matter what other people said. It didn't matter that they looked down on me. It didn't matter, didn't matter, didn't matter…_

_It really didn't matter to me at all…_

…

…

…

"_R-Reborn? W-What's going on here?"_

"_This is Tsubaki, Dame-Tsuna. I called her here since she's a fairly decent bounty hunter who's allied with Vongola, since she went through the Varia's training regime before. So… ready for your next lesson in learning how to hunt mafia criminals?"_

"_HIIEEEE?"_

* * *

I recognized them.

Vaguely, that is.

Maybe I'd seen them around on occasion before, during all the times I'd spent early on with the Varia. I couldn't quite remember anymore, not so clearly. It'd been so long since those days that I was beginning to forget –I vaguely recognized their faces, yes, but my tongue was still hesitant to match individual names to those somewhat-familiar features.

Well. No matter.

I easily ducked under a poorly-aimed bullet and darted out from under my cover, leaping over the crates stacked in my way in a single jump. The startled man hiding behind them straightened just as I landed beside him, turning the barrel of his gun on me in the same moment that I neatly stepped into his guard and disarmed him.

"Who-"

He slumped to the ground, unconscious, and I turned towards Basil –who was just finishing up with his own opponent.

"He doesn't have the rings on him. I assume it's the same situation over on your side?"

Basil nodded slowly, "Then, in that case…"

Iemitsu.

Iemitsu and Oregano were on the trail of those who carried the stolen rings with them. That meant that this was the decoy, which also meant that it was highly likely that there was-

"There they are!"

Basil and I turned together towards the voice in an eerie moment of perfect synchronicity.

"Well," My voice came out perfectly calm as I surveyed the three-man Varia team headed for us, "I'll take care of things here. Why don't you go on ahead? If we're the ones who found the decoy –Sawada will probably need your help over there."

"… Thou art certain?"

Those words startled a small laugh out of me; it'd been so long since I last heard Basil's antiquated way of speaking. Basil didn't seem sure of how to react by my response –it was sweet of him, really, to offer help to an unfamiliar assassin even when he knew that Iemitsu and Oregano were most likely facing obstacles of their own.

"I'll be fine, I'll be fine," I waved at him over my shoulder, urging him to leave. "This is what I'm hired for, no?"

And I darted forward before hearing his response.

_Disable, not kill._ So easy to forget, when I didn't remember the names to those faces anymore. _They aren't your enemies._

I twisted my body as I ran; deftly avoiding the throwing knives spinning towards me –Bel was much more proficient at using projectiles than these three could ever hope to be.

"We won't let you leave so easily!"

A crackle of lightning, and I flattened myself to the ground as a burst of green-tinged flames roared over me, almost charring my hair in the process.

"'We won't let you leave?' Really?" I inserted a mocking note into my voice, half provocative and half careless at the same time. "As if we need your permission to do that."

_Irritate them. Make them angry. They'll get careless that way, and it'll be easier to avoid inflicting unnecessary injuries._

A sneer crossed one of their faces, "You don't have a choice."

"Don't I?"

My kick caught him in the side of the head –no, he'd raised his arm to block it just in time and was pointing his gun at me with a cocky smirk-

Point blank range. Impossible for anyone to miss, much less a seasoned member of the Varia.

_Not that it makes any difference._

His eyes widened as he realized his body wouldn't obey his commands, finger still frozen upon the gun's trigger. His surprise was almost tangible, and in that instant –when solid victory had slipped from his grasp and he was well and truly vulnerable –I didn't hesitate to take advantage of the slim window of opportunity that it presented to me; landing with catlike grace and slamming him into the wall of the narrow alleyway we were in.

Just another parlor trick.

I took a split second to survey the field. In the brief moment that it'd taken me to engage in combat, both of the other men in the Varia squad had given chase to Basil.

Unacceptable.

My foot lashed out, kicking his gun into the air from where he'd dropped it after losing consciousness. Right hand raised in front of me, easily catching it by the barrel and spinning it on my palm so I grasped the handle and aimed carefully –this was all done with a familiarity that came from decades of experience in handling firearms-

_BANG. BANG._

One of them stumbled, falling to the ground. Two bullets, one in each knee. Non-fatal. Injuries which were quite the inconvenience for giving chase, but nothing that couldn't be recovered from –especially considering the medical facilities that the Varia boasted of–

_Click. Click click._

"… Out of bullets already?" I muttered, raising an eyebrow at the gun in my hands. "Whatever happened to the golden rule of properly maintaining your weapons? Squalo is going to have a field day if he ever finds out about this."

I threw away the useless weapon, letting a hand drop to the tsurugi at my side as I began running to where the last Varia assassin had already caught up to Basil. Rain flames were already flickering around his body, as he decked the man in the face; it was an easy thing to hold out my sword to the side and watch the man crack his skull on the sheath as he was bodily thrown back by the young boy.

Basil was strong, of that I had no doubt.

"We must make haste," there was a small frown on his face, "Master Sawada will need us for the dangers ahead."

True.

Judging by the way the team had split themselves –instead of focusing on taking me down first, they'd also gone after Basil. That meant that whatever their goal was, it wasn't simply just to kill. It was also to delay, to prevent us from leaving this place. Which begged the question of why they would do so in the first place –was the entire thing a diversion? A trap, to make Iemitsu divide us up in an attempt to track down the rings?

Or maybe…

Maybe, Iemitsu _knew _which team had taken the rings, and deemed that team to be too dangerous for us to face with him –and so sent us after what he knew to be a decoy team, while he himself took after the real team with the vastly more experienced and trusted Oregano? It was an entirely plausible course of action; something I wouldn't put past Iemitsu to do.

That also meant that it was highly likely that Iemitsu would be facing much stronger opponents.

Basil seemed to have come to a similar conclusion, judging by the grim look on his face and the way he increased our running pace as we backtracked along the path we'd come. Luckily, Iemitsu had told us of the two routes beforehand –it wasn't that far of a distances between the two places, and-

Wait.

Assuming that Iemitsu knew. Assuming that Iemitsu knew he was sending us after the 'safe team.' Assuming that he didn't want us children to get involved in anything that would put us in over our heads.

(Iemitsu had always hated using children on the field. I hadn't missed the expression that'd briefly flitted across his face when he first saw me in that meeting room –before his aura as a professional came down and he treated me the same way any assassin from the Guild would be treated.)

… What guarantee was there that he'd given us the right location of where he currently was?

Then again, it was just as likely that this was just another calculated part of his plans. Maybe he wanted us to head to that location for something else entirely –ambush or intel-gathering, who knows?

It'd always been difficult to guess what was on his mind. Much as he pretended to be lackadaisical and carefree and pretty much useless in front of Tsuna during the scant few times he visited his family in Namimori, he _was _the leader of CEDEF for a damned good reason. People didn't call him the "Young Lion of Vongola" for nothing.

It was hard to resent Iemitsu after working in CEDEF under his lead, after walking on a tightrope over death with someone you knew would do everything in his power to protect each and every one of his subordinates. That was another thing that set him apart from many others in the mafia –I knew that the Vongola Nono himself wouldn't have any qualms in sacrificing his men to reach his goals, as kindly as he always portrayed himself to be in front of Tsuna.

I let out a soft sigh, ignoring the questioning gaze that Basil turned on me for the minor action.

How many times had I placed my life into Iemitsu's hands before? Granted, those had been times when I was a precious member of the close-knit CEDEF family… but still…

Even if he didn't quite trust me yet. Even if this entire mission was still a test, an evaluation. Even if this was just another trap I was walking into, just like the first time Reborn had smiled at me before putting a bullet through my head.

_I'm not the same girl I was before._

Once more couldn't hurt.

* * *

"_Hey, look. It's that girl."_

"… _That's the girl who completely aced the test, right?"_

"_Yeah. Y'know, she actually looked like she was _bored _through the entire thing! It's no wonder that she made it in so easily."_

"_Hm, my thoughts exactly. That girl is definitely prime Varia material…"_

_Whispers behind each corridor, everywhere I looked. Furtive glances around the halls, everywhere I turned. _

_Was this what I wanted?_

'_Look at me, the girl you all said was useless and would never amount to anything. Look at me. Look at me now. Can you really say the same thing of me anymore?'_

… _Was this what I wanted?_

_To be alienated from everyone? To be regarded at arm's length? To be separated from them, even though we stood together?_

…

_So this is what loneliness means._

_Funny, isn't it?_

_You can be standing in a room full of people, and still remain so very lonely._

…

…

…

"_Oh, you're the newest on Levi's squad, aren't you? Look at you, aren't you just precious? Levi, I'm borrowing your adorable little subordinate today!"_

"_What? You can't just waltz in here and grab one of my- oi! OI! LUSSURIA! QUIT SCREWING AROUND, YOU SCUMBAG!"_

"_Mou, Levi is so easy to tease. He gets worked up so easily-"_

"_LUSSURIA, GET YOUR ASS BACK IN HERE! AND DROP TSUBAKI WHILE YOU'RE AT IT, TOO!"_

* * *

_Basil wasn't quite sure what to make of this 'Tsubaki.'_

_He'd worked with freelance assassins before, of course. Master Sawada had been both careful and thorough in warning him how to deal with their kind –so when that phone call from Mr. Reborn came, and Master Sawada had very calmly set down the phone before proceeding to lay out the plans for watching this assassin-_

_Except, the assassin hadn't quite been what they'd expected._

_For most freelancers, even if they'd pieced together the situation like she did from the scant few things she knew –who would dare say that directly to their employer, directly to the Vongola's Young Lion himself? It hadn't been a challenge either, not really, but it most certainly wasn't a sign of an assassin bowing in submission to their contractor._

_So why had she done that? And why had Master just… laughed?_

_Why had he contracted her for this mission to retrieve the Vongola half-rings?_

_This wasn't any idle mission. This was an important artifact of the Vongola Famiglia, something that couldn't be allowed to fall into the hands of outsiders, ever-_

_So why?_

_Perhaps Master had seen some of his confusion, and that'd been why he paired him with Tsubaki on this trail._

_But… he'd kept an eye out for strange signs from her, but he hadn't caught onto any. It seemed that, once the contract had been signed and sealed with flames, Tsubaki had become every bit the professional assassin she was._

_There must've been _something _Master had seen in her, though, for him to consider her for this mission when she wasn't –as far as he knew– an ally of the Vongola in any way, shape, or form._

_Aside from the favor she'd promised his Master's son, the Vongola Decimo-in-training._

_It wasn't until she told him to leave and head to his Master's side while she delayed the Varia squad waiting in ambush for them, that he realized with a sudden start that her actions were strangely reminiscent of-_

"_Thou art certain?"_

_He hadn't realized the words coming out from his mouth until he did, and… to his surprise, he found that he actually _meant _those words, that offer of aid._

"_I'll be fine, I'll be fine," the girl laughed breezily, waving a hand at him to motion him onwards without her. "This is what I'm hired for, no?"_

_All assassins were good actors –no matter what the situations, they were always careful of what emotions they let slip through their masks. Rare was the time they were inattentive of what they let others see._

_Basil wondered whether her smile was genuine or not. Some part of him seemed to be hoping that it was, but it was hard to tell._

_BANG. BANG._

_One of his two pursuers had fallen at the sound of those gunshots. The two of them had taken off after him as soon as Tsubaki moved to fight them –what was their purpose in doing so if they were a team? If they were most combat-effective when working together, why wouldn't they work together to eliminate their targets one by one? Why were they splitting up like this?_

_Basil had fought members of the Varia before, during his training. The one who was fighting him right now –he was skilled, but woefully inept when compared to the more talented subordinates that he _knew _lurked within the Varia's shadows-_

_Unless._

_Unless… they were only meant to delay them? That would make sense, given the extent of their skills. Was this to delay them from rendezvousing with Master? If so, then…_

_Basil frowned._

_That could only mean one thing._

"_We must make haste," he raised his eyes, meeting the unfathomable gaze of the young assassin standing in front of him, awaiting orders. "Master Sawada will need us for the dangers ahead."_

_Tsubaki's mind games and motives could always be examined at a later date. What was important now was to go to his Master's aid, for he was all but certain that the Varia had something planned up their sleeves by dividing them from his Master and now delaying them returning._

_Questions could always be answered later._

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

I'm back, everyone. :3 XxZuiliu here.

Lol I actually considered withholding this chapter for a moment before I posted it. We're at 99 reviews as of chapter five, so might as well wait for 100, right? … Personally, though, it kind of irks me when authors do things like that, so I decided against it. Here's the newly-finished sixth chapter for y'all. :)

Anyhow, hope you enjoyed the last two updates when XxZuiyun took charge. We might start taking turns with this AN at the end of each chapter from this point onwards, just to be fair.

So. Tsubaki joins on the mission to retrieve the half-rings that the Varia stole from CEDEF. A little memory with Xanxus at the beginning, and some snippets of previous loops spent with the Varia. No Mammon, though, sorry. Kinda surprised by how many people were interested in seeing him, though. Maybe he'll make an appearance in the next chapter?

And sorry, Fran won't be coming in just yet. xD

Basil's thoughts at the end aren't written in antiquated speech, even though the way he speaks in the story is. Partially because it's easier to understand normal English, and partially because I believe –and correct me if I'm wrong– Basil speaks antiquated Japanese to Tsuna&amp;co. I doubt he thinks in antiquated Japanese in his own language.

Also, "Polaris" has been updated at long last, if anyone happens to be interested in that.

**QUESTION: **This is actually one of our largest concerns. _Does any canon character seem terribly OOC to you so far?_ (Aimed at Xanxus here in particular, but let us know if you spot it in other characters, too.)

Chapter seven is in the works, so hopefully we'll be able to update again next week. Hopefully.

Till next time,

XxZuiliu


	7. 01: 7 Decoy

_Blue, blue skies. Puffy white clouds. Golden sun, shining brightly overhead._

_The perfect image of a peaceful town._

"_Lambo demands to go out for ice cream!"_

_It was another usual day in Namimori. Another day of waking up in the morning, getting dressed, eating breakfast, and then walking over to Tsuna's house to go to school together along with the others. The school year was finally drawing to a close and summer was upon us –it was the last summer of our middle school years; by this time next year, it would be the new summer of our first high school year._

_How quickly doth time pass in the blink of an eye._

"_Not now, Lambo!" There was something that sounded suspiciously like a crash from inside the living room, and Tsuna's voice sounded again in a pained yelp. To my side, Hayato looked downright murderous. "I still have school today! I'll take you and I-pin out this afternoon, okay? Besides, you just ate breakfast!"_

"_NO! LAMBO WANTS ICE CREAM NOW!"_

_The familiar scene was not unusual. Lambo crying and rolling on the carpet in another of his daily tantrums; Tsuna helplessly standing to the side, I-pin trying to blend in with the wall in the background._

_Nothing unusual._

"_Dame-Tsuna is a big meanie! I want ice cream! Ice cream!"_

_Nothing unusual at all._

_Except._

_When Lambo flipped onto his stomach to pound his arms and legs on the ground, the sudden movement happened to dislodge a multitude of items that were usually well-hidden in his hair –grape candies and wrappers went flying everywhere, a lollipop hit Tsuna squarely on the head, a paintball flipped somewhere towards the coffee table-_

_And a purple bazooka slammed over me just as I turned the corner and entered the room._

"_TSUBAKI!"_

_Pink and violet rings of light surrounded me. A strange energy was compressing my body, trying to take me somewhere I didn't belong, to a time I shouldn't exist in. A cloud of smoke obscured my surroundings, and for a moment, everything around me disappeared in a swirl of colorful lights._

_And then the smoke cleared._

"… _Lambo, remember what I told you about growing up? Whining and throwing temper tantrums when you don't get your way isn't exactly a budding sign of maturity. Didn't you tell Mama the other day that you were a big boy now?"_

_The other occupants of the room looked completely floored as I emerged from the pink smoke completely unscathed._

_I blinked innocently, batting my eyelashes quizzically as Tsuna flailed his arms wildly from surprise._

"_What? Why are you all staring at me like that?"_

_It was fun, teasing them._

"_W-Wait, Tsubaki –the Ten Year Bazooka, it hit you, didn't it?"_

"_That's right, Tsuna."_

_Takeshi scratched the back of his head at my smooth response, "… Is it broken, then?"_

"_Can't be," Hayato interjected, frowning. "Just yesterday the dumb cow got switched with his ten-years-later self, didn't he? It should be working fine!"_

_I smiled._

"_Well, that's enough excitement for this morning, don't you think?" Turning around on my heel, I headed for the door again. "C'mon, we'll be late for school. You don't want Kyoya's Disciplinary Committee to get upset at us again, right?"_

"_But –the bazooka –what just –how?"_

"… _Saa, who knows?" I shrugged airily at their blatant confusion. Then, on the spur of the moment, "Maybe it's because I will never bow to the caprices of Time in this world."_

…

_Hayato's eyes widened as he was the first to understand the significance of my words._

"_UMA?"_

_I tripped over the doorframe._

* * *

Time is a fickle element that can be both ally and enemy to man.

At the moment, though, I was leaning more towards the definition of 'enemy.'

_Just what is Iemitsu planning?_

I roughly smashed the hilt of my still-sheathed sword into another Varia member, watching the man collapse to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

The closer we approached the location Iemitsu had given us, the more Varia teams we encountered in our way. What was going on here? Assuming that the Varia had stationed teams in the immediate surroundings to keep others out, effectively boxing in this area –were they placed here beforehand or had they been called here afterwards? Were they part of an ambush or were they simply here to trap Iemitsu in this place? Who was leading them? It was impossible for separate, scattered teams to move in such a coordinated manner on their own… unless this had all been organized in advance?

Ironic, that the rendezvous point at the center of this all was a church.

… Granted, the ruins of a church that were sequestered away in a fairly secluded sector of the small town. Yet, the winding paths and twisting alleyways leading towards it were nonetheless perfect for hiding ambush teams. Perhaps this was why they'd chosen this location despite it being a church?

At this rate, though, it was going to take forever and a day to reach Iemitsu.

_Don't use lethal force. Don't use lethal force. Control yourself._

A small mantra to ground myself, to dull my reactions and keep from inflicting serious injury, even as I began gradually losing patience. They weren't _enemies, _not in the sense that I remembered our true enemies to be –but there was no denying the fact that the Varia teams were obstacles on a mission; a mission that could, like any other, go straight to hell at any given moment.

… What had convinced me that getting contracted to CEDEF for a mission was a good thing, anyways?

Right. Rebuilding relations with the Vongola. Trying to show them I could be a good ally. Attempting to change their minds about killing me.

Oh, the things I did.

_Not that they'll ever know. Even if I tell them what I did for their sakes –even assuming that I have the chance to and they'll believe me– they won't _understand.

I surged forward in a sudden burst of speed, crushing a man's windpipe before bodily flipping him over my shoulder. He let out a low grunt as I slammed him into the ground using my entire weight, attempting to trap me in a grappling move in the scant few moments before I proceeded to immobilize him. Tenacious man.

"Stay still, you little brat!" A voice roared somewhere behind me.

My hands were already ramming the sheathed point of my blade backwards even before I'd turned around to see who the voice belonged to. It was a pleasant surprise to see Basil's roundhouse kick nail him squarely in the face –and I redirected the path of my sword so it knocked the wind out of another hitman attempting to get the drop on Basil.

"What you think?" Light, conversational tone. My hand flashed forward, fingers mimicking claws as I followed the movement of gouging out a man's eyes –he leaned back, beating a quick retreat, and I planted a foot in his gut instead, watching with satisfaction as his body flew backwards and crashed against a wall. That was going to leave an impressive bruise.

To my left, Basil caught a punch in his hands and _twisted_, dropping the man when an audible 'crack' sounded through the air, accompanied by a pained scream.

"Thou also senses something suspicious afoot?" He finished his opponent off with a swift kick to the temple.

"Well…" I drawled, sidestepping another blow and parrying a burly fist with the hilt of my sword. "If you're talking about all these men stationed suspiciously around where a tiny little rendezvous point is supposed be; yes, I think there's something wrong with this entire situation at hand. Hypothetically speaking, when there are so many people lying in wait around a localized point –I don't think we're headed for a simple rendezvous."

Again; what was Iemitsu thinking of doing this time?

Basil made a small sound of assent to my assessment as he sent another man flying.

"Master likely hath planned our actions to include this," he admitted, "Though I knowest not of what he intends for us to do here."

"If you want to find out, that can easily be arranged." I replied dryly, "Head to the church ruins, right? There's ought to be a reason why he would tell us to come here. And even if he didn't plan for all these Varia squads here –well, at least we're doing something useful by clearing them out of the way, huh?"

We took off at another low sprint as the last attacker collapsed to the ground.

Basil had grown more comfortable with my presence as we fought together –there was still an edge of wariness to him at times when he regarded me, but nowhere near as restless as he'd been at the beginning of our partnership. It was relieving, refreshing, to a certain degree, but I couldn't help but wonder if this was also part of Iemitsu's plans –Basil was around my age; had he intended for us to form a sort of camaraderie together through this mission? Or was this just another method of observing me? Using his apprentice to keep an eye on me while we worked together?

… Who knows?

"We're close," I followed Basil's lead, slowing my speed to match his as he spoke again in a terse voice. "Master should be right up ahead-"

The church was in sight. Ivy climbed over gray, crumbling walls in an intricate dance, twisting over tall spires and shattered windows-

-shattered windows?

I raised an arm to cover my face as the ruins exploded, tremors of residue force from the strong impact rocking the very ground we stood on. Well, not so much _exploded _per se as an entire section of the church caved in and smoke billowed over us in a veritable wave from the rubble.

"What took you two so long?"

"Master!"

Iemitsu was _good. _I'd barely sensed his presence behind us until a heartbeat before he spoke.

"Listen," his voice was dead serious as he pressed an ornate box into Basil's hands, "These are the rings. We just got them from the Varia team here; we can't risk the half-rings falling into their hands again. I need you to go to Japan and bring this to Tsuna."

Basil's eyes widened at the sudden orders given to him, but he didn't protest_._

"Y-Yes, Master."

Directly to Tsuna, huh? True, Basil usually was the one who brought the fake half-rings to Tsuna-

_The fake half-rings._

I let out a small puff of breath in sudden realization, understanding where this abrupt turn of events was headed.

Iemitsu was making us into bait. When the Varia discovered us fleeing from this scene instead of staying to aid Iemitsu, they would instantly become suspicious of us –and upon finding that Basil carried the 'real rings,' they would then abandon the fight here and chase us instead. That would allow Iemitsu a small window of opportunity to act, free of Varia scrutiny. He'd then either give the real rings to Dino to take to Namimori, or bring them to Tsuna himself.

So this was what he had in mind.

"There'll be a plane waiting for you two. Turmeric has already arranged it." Iemitsu straightened, his eyes darting back to the church ruins ahead as the smoke began dissipating. "Now, go!"

He disappeared back into the chaotic fray of screams and gunshots without another word.

…

Smart man, that Iemitsu.

I turned and followed Basil.

* * *

"_Mammon, can I ask you for a favor?"_

_The tiny hooded figure turned towards me at the sound of my voice, silently appraising me for a moment before replying._

"_Even if it's you, Tsubaki, it'll still cost you. My services don't come cheap."_

"_Ha, I kind of expected you to say that." A small, hopeless laugh. I gingerly sat down next to him on the balcony railings, swinging my legs over the side and letting my bare legs dangle in the cool night air._

_The breeze was lovely._

"… _What is it that you want?"_

_A small pause, a brief lull in conversation._

"_You're one of the best illusionists in the world, Mammon. Mist flames…" I trailed off for a moment, before continuing. "They work by influencing the human mind, don't they?"_

"_Of course."_

"_Well," I hesitated again, not quite sure how to go about phrasing this request. Better to be blunt, maybe? "If I told you that there was something I wanted to forget… is there any way your Mist flames can do that?"_

_His head turned towards me sharply._

"_You're an idiot."_

_Harsh, biting words._

_I smiled apologetically._

"_Altering memories isn't the same as simply fooling the senses. It penetrates much, much deeper into a human's psyche. If anything goes wrong from this, you _will _be driven insane. And that's not discounting the gravity of what you're asking of me –you're asking me to deliberately enter and mess with your mind!"_

_Was he aware that he'd raised the tone of his voice towards me?_

_Maybe, maybe not._

"… _What is it that you want to forget?"_

_Ah. He was considering my request, then?_

"_My past."_

…

"_I take back my words. You're not just an idiot; you're outright _mad. _Why in the world would you want to forget your entire past?_"

_I shrugged._

"_Because it hurts too much to remember."_

…

…

…

"_Forget what I said, Mammon. I guess I was just curious. I… I'll see you around later, ne?"_

_Couldn't risk it if I could go insane from this, eh? Thought it sounded too good to be true when I heard the possibility of a skilled practitioner's Mist flames erasing memories…_

_I stood up and quietly walked away, feeling his eyes burn a hole into my back until I turned the corner and disappeared from his line of sight._

* * *

Surprisingly, it'd been easy to beat a hasty retreat from where Iemitsu was fighting a good portion of the deployed Varia forces with the CEDEF backup he'd called. Unsurprisingly, it hadn't taken long before Basil and I were discovered in our mad dash away from the site of destruction.

"Ushishishi. What do we have here?"

Bel.

Prince the Ripper. The Mad Prince. Xanxus' Storm Guardian.

"Ara? I didn't expect to run into anyone so soon." I smiled disarmingly, stepping forward. Knowing that neither of us was fooled by the other's 'harmless' act, "Will you let us pass?"

Bel's smile widened.

I tilted my head to the side, letting the sharp knife pass by harmlessly. Basil was giving me a _look _–the what-the-heck-do-you-think-you're-doing-are-you-_suicidal _look. Hm. I'd always thought he'd picked it up after hanging around Tsuna during the Ring Battles.

"Guess not," I mock-sighed. Hadn't expected Bel to let us go without a fight, after all –this was _Bel _we were talking about. "Well, it was worth a try. Leave him to me, Basil."

In other words:

_Guess this is a battle we can't avoid. Go on ahead with the rings, Basil –I'll take care of things here._

"You're certainly full of yourself, ushishishi." Bel's smile morphed into something more of a leer as he held up a handful of knives, fanning them out with a flick of the wrist. "I'm a Varia officer."

"And I'm an assassin. Your point being?"

Not the smartest of retorts, really.

The blond cackled, before launching a veritable storm of gleaming knives at me. Typical, typical Bel.

This time, I had no hesitation in unsheathing my sword as I ran towards him –it was good-quality steel that'd cost me a veritable _fortune; _thankfully, I had yet to come across anything that the edge couldn't cut through yet. Bel was fond of using a technique that attached razor-thin wires to his throwing knives –metal wires which, well, cut as well as the razor edge of a blade.

I held no desire to be ensnared within his wire traps ever again. Enough was enough; I wasn't eager to repeat those painful experiences. Bel could be downright sadistic at times.

I swung my sword, slicing through the wires that'd been closing in on my body when I twisted to avoid the knives.

"Oh?" Bel's grin widened, "To think that there would be someone who'd spot it so quickly."

"Your mistake," I said lightly, spinning the long tsurugi in my hand so that I now held it in a backhand grip. "The sun is bright today. Metal wires gleam under the light –it wasn't too hard to figure out there was something off about those shiny lines trailing behind your knives. Although I must admit, it's an interesting trick."

"Ushishishi."

The knives came again.

"Leave, Basil." I hissed over my shoulder, catching sight of the boy still hovering anxiously behind me. "Hurry! I can't-" _won't _"-stall him forever!"

Then I turned back towards the battle at hand. Even knowing the trick to Bel's knives, it wasn't enough –knowing something was useless if you still got trapped by it, anyways-

Ah.

"Ushishishi," Bel sounded positively gleeful. "First blood goes to me."

I woodenly raised a hand to wipe my cheek, watching as my palm came away bloodstained.

"First blood to you," I agreed.

Then I hurled my sword at him.

It was something he could dodge easily, of that I knew full well –as expected, Bel shifted slightly to the side as the tsurugi missed, and-

I kept the easygoing smile on my face as I reappeared right next to him, reaching out my right hand and effortlessly plucking the sword out of the air, much to his palpable astonishment.

"Boo."

The tip of my sword was red when he leaped back in alarm. Bel was _fast _when he wanted to be.

I pressed my momentary advantage, careful to avoid tangling myself in the wires while I deflected the knives he threw at me. He seemed to have gotten a little more serious now that I'd cut him-

A flash of red; I ducked and sliced the attached string instead of using my blade to meet the edge of the Storm-infused knife head on. I eyed the glowing dagger balefully as it passed –those things _hurt _when they were embedded into your body; much, much more than his usual knives. Which was to be expected, really.

Not that it made my situation any better.

I rather liked the stalemate we had going on at the moment. A little while more, then I'd purposely allow myself to be injured and beat a hasty retreat. Basil would be along far enough by then that Bel wouldn't be able to catch up to him easily. I was never much for dragging out a meaningless fight.

That seemed to be the point of all of our battles on this mission –delaying the enemy and dragging out the time; a tactic first used against Basil and I, and now a strategy that I was turning back on them.

It would've worked. _Should've _worked.

Except, when had things ever gone to plan for me?

"VOI! WHY ARE YOU WASTING TIME HERE, BEL?"

Stalling Bel, that was something I could pull off perfectly well. It was a battle that I could control without giving too much away. Stalling Bel and Squalo at the same time, though?

Not very likely. I felt my lips thin, before I quickly erased the expression from my face.

Even if it meant I wasn't likely to be in control of the situation anymore, that didn't mean I wouldn't try –Basil _definitely _couldn't have gotten far enough of a distance between us at this point. It was imperative that I held them here for as long as possible.

So.

"Here comes another one," I muttered under my breath. My voice was quiet, soft enough to be considered a mere comment to myself, but also loud enough that I knew both Varia officers were keen enough to pick up on it. "This is going to be a real pain, isn't it?"

"_VOI!"_

"Heard you the first time," Keep talking, keep talking. Stall them here using whatever means necessary. Preferably with words more than knives. Conversation is easier to deal with than combat –unless the person on the other end of the conversation happened to be Reborn, that is. "Is there something you'd like to say, hm?"

For a moment, rage and annoyance flickered over Squalo's face as his eyes passed over me, and Bel snickered to the side –then his eyes narrowed and I was belatedly aware that I'd most likely let something slip from my demeanor.

"You. You're not part of CEDEF."

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow, not revealing an inch of my inner thoughts. "What makes you so sure about that?"

Squalo snorted.

"I know the files of every one of those CEDEF wussies. You're not in them."

And this was why Superbi Squalo was the Varia Lieutenant, second in command after Xanxus himself. He'd certainly been thorough in preparing for this entire conflict with CEDEF beforehand.

"What if I tell you I'm new?" I tried extending the conversation, "I could be one of the most recent recruits for all you know."

"Liar."

Sharp. Then again, Squalo had always been fairly sharp in calling out bluffs. If Basil hadn't truly believed that he was carrying the real half-rings with him –would Squalo have realized that he was only a decoy halfway through the chase?

Regardless.

"You're right, I'm not part of CEDEF." I conceded the point to him.

Squalo eyed me suspiciously for a moment at my quick admittance.

"Voi. What are you doing here, then?"

I smiled again.

"Who knows?"

Bel laughed as Squalo _twitched _at my flippant response. "Ushishishi, don't tell me that it was _coincidence _that you were with Sawada's apprentice just now…"

The silver-haired swordsman whirled on the blond assassin as soon as those words left his mouth, and I felt the distinct urge to face-palm. There went my chances of drawing out the dialogue.

"_YOU LET HIM FUCKING LEAVE?"_

"Hmm?" Bel cocked his head to the side, the grin on his face not faltering one bit in face of his vice-captain's rage. "What was that?"

"_He has the goddamned rings," _Squalo all but snarled at him. "Sawada Iemitsu gave those half-rings to him, and you just let him up and _leave?"_

Bel's lips briefly twisted into a small half-frown at this –annoyance, perhaps?– before smiling and laughing again.

"Whatever," Squalo grumbled, rolling his eyes and turning to brandish his sword at me. "Voi! Get the fuck out of the way if you value your life!"

I made a small 'tsk'-ing noise with my tongue, now that things had come to this point.

"Sorry, can't do that. It's precisely because I _do _value my life that I can't 'get the fuck out of the way,' don't you see?"

They wouldn't know what I was referring to –Iemitsu and Reborn watching my performance on this mission, waiting to make a final judgment on whether I'd be better off dead or alive–

And then I was busy trying not to get skewered by Squalo's sword and avoid Bel's knives at the same time.

_Stall. As long as possible –hold them here, give Basil more time to escape. _

_Iemitsu had better appreciate this effort from me._

* * *

…

"_Sorry, can't do that." An apologetic smile. The raven-haired girl gave a hapless gesture with her hands that both explained and explained nothing at all. "It's precisely because I _do _value my life that I can't 'get the fuck out of the way,' don't you see?"_

_There was more to what she was saying, but at the moment, Squalo really couldn't give a damn about it._

_She was an obstacle. An obstacle to pursuing Basil, Sawada Iemitsu's only apprentice –an obstacle to obtaining the Vongola half-rings. He could care less about her personal circumstances for standing in their path. _

_Her refusal to move just meant she was another obstacle to cut down._

_Besides, she admitted to not being part of CEDEF. That just meant they wouldn't face any repercussions when they killed her. After all, how many people could take on two Varia officers at the same time?_

…

_Apparently, she was one of those people._

_Squalo scowled as she spun out of his sword's reach, her own blade coming up and slicing through the wire trap that Bel had set up around her. Her fighting style was erratic –sometimes she pressed on an assault, striking hard and fast, but other times she was kept on the run, barely managing to dodge the attacks they sent her way. There were several good cuts on her body already from the times she hadn't been quite fast enough-_

_His body locked up, frozen in movement._

_Only for a second._

_But she'd taken that second and brushed past him to descend upon Bel, knocking the self-proclaimed prince backwards even as another knife sliced into her shoulder. He wasn't paying attention to that, though, because-_

_What the fuck was that just now?_

_For a moment, Squalo was seized with the irrational urge to go after her and demand answers, to continue their battle-_

_Except, that wasn't what he was here for now, was it?_

_He wasn't here to fight with whatever interesting opponent Bel had stumbled upon. He was here to hunt down the stupid kid who'd run off with the half-rings, and he'd be damned if he allowed himself to be distracted from his mission like Bel had._

_The girl made a move to go after him when he took off running, only to be stopped by another barrage of Bel's knives._

"_Just how many of those things are you hiding on your body?" She complained, forced to turn her attentions back towards the smiling blond. Squalo made a mental note to himself –she _was _trying to keep them here, stalling for time. That put her in league with CEDEF, even if she wasn't an official member. "I feel like those things are multiplying in number every time I turn around!"_

"_Ushishishi. A prince never reveals his secrets."_

_How annoying._

"_VOI! You'd better hurry up and kill the girl!" Squalo barked out in irritation at the Storm Guardian, "I'm going on ahead!"_

_He wouldn't waste any more time here._

_After all, he had some half-rings to hunt down._

* * *

The Other Author's Notes:

Zuiyun here for the AN again.

OC tries to sound like a wise guru in a previous loop, tries to buy some time for Basil, faces Bel and Squalo briefly in battle. Didn't miss too much with that summary, right?

Anyways.

Mammon makes a small appearance in a memory of another previous loop. Three guesses on what OC wants to forget, and the first two don't count. xD

Hope Bel and Squalo weren't too OOC here. Short Squalo POV at the end of the chapter, hope it doesn't sound too weird and un-Squalo-y. Figured that Squalo would be kind of dismissive of her at this point.

We should be heading back into Japan in the next chapter, where the Ring Battles are starting soon. On another note, we're starting to run out of pre-written snippets now –so updates might begin to slow down soon. Hopefully won't be too much of a delay, though.

**QUESTION: **Not just pertinent to the Varia this time. What characters would you be interested to see featured in memories of previous loops? Any particular reasons why? Name your top three choices. :3

Zuiyun out.


	8. 01: 8 The Contracted Assassin

"I demand a pay raise."

"Excuse me?"

I smiled.

"In my contract," I enunciated the words slowly and clearly. "I merely agreed to aid CEDEF in the retrieval of the Vongola half-rings. In no way, shape, or form does it state _anywhere _in there that I was to hold off two Varia officers _by myself_. I demand a pay raise for going above and beyond the agreed-upon terms of the contract."

It was a very assassin-like sentiment. More of a Mammon-like sentiment, to be sure, but a sentiment that would doubtlessly be shared amongst all freelance assassins.

"Well," Iemitsu scratched the back of his head. "Technically, fighting them can be counted as part of aiding in the retrieval of the rings, wouldn't you say?"

I sent a half-hearted glare in his direction, "Technically, that would be delivering the rings to the Vongola Decimo. Not aiding in its retrieval."

"She's got a point there, Iemitsu."

I glanced up at the voice that joined our conversation.

"Not you too, Dino," the head of CEDEF mock-groaned, "I'm on a budget here, y'know!"

The blond Cavallone grinned cheerfully at his apparent despair.

"If you were going to go ahead and hire a freelancer, then you should've prepared your wallet for this." Dino teased gently, "They don't exactly come cheap these days, do they?"

_My services don't come cheap._

A fragment of a memory. I brushed it to the side.

"To be fair," shifting in my seat, I sat upright again. The private plane was nice –which was to be expected; this _was _Dino's private plane. "I gave him a discount when we were writing up the contract. But that was before I nearly got turned into a porcupine by his highness Prince the Ripper, and almost got skewered by the current Sword Emperor. I think I deserve some compensation here."

After Squalo had left, I'd planned to drag out the fight with Bel just a little longer before retreating –except, that hadn't been the case.

Because Dino had shown up, Romario in a tow.

"_Iemitsu asked me to come here," he shrugged, eyes critical as he surveyed the scene of desctruction. "I can certainly see why he sent me, though."_

Bel had retreated shortly after Dino made his appearance, only exchanging the barest of blows. Then the Cavallone had beckoned me to follow him, citing Iemitsu's orders, and that'd led to where we were now –me bandaging the numerous cuts all over my body as we sat together pensively in Dino's private plane, Iemitsu present in this little gathering as well. Basil had managed to depart for Namimori before us, Squalo hot on his heels. I couldn't help but feel slightly cheered at the thought that Iemitsu had even bothered sending Dino to grab me before setting off for Japan. Looks like I was making some headway into this 'building trust' business, after all.

(Though that didn't mean I could drop the act of a freelance assassin just yet.)

"Fine, fine, I'll send your standard fee to your account." Iemitsu grumbled, giving me a very impressive stink-eye. The ill intent behind it wasn't completely real, though, so I simply smiled in response. "You're almost as bad as that Mammon of theirs."

Mammon, eh? If only he knew.

"Glad that we've cleared that up between us," I finished wrapping up my arm, setting the roll of bandages down on the small table in front of me. "Now, if you don't mind my asking… why, pray tell, am I going to Japan with you?"

"You mean you _want _me to leave you here in Italy, where the Varia will most likely kill you on sight after what you did?"

I rolled my eyes at his tone.

"No, but that doesn't explain why I'm still with you." I leaned back in my seat, "CEDEF already has the rings back –why would you still need me to stick around? My contract should- be- over-"

I stuttered to a halt as Iemitsu oh-so-casually reached into his briefcase and pulled out a clear sheet of paper, setting the innocuous parchment down on the table between us.

"Let's just say I was impressed by your performance on this mission," he smiled. It wasn't a _nice _smile. Maybe I shouldn't have asked for that bonus… "Now, what do you say to another contract with me?"

_Damn._

Behind us, Dino laughed.

* * *

"_Oi, how long do you plan on getting in my way, scum? Hand it over already, and I'll make your death painless."_

_A silver-haired swordsman, pointing his blade at a young boy wreathed in Rain flames._

"_I cannot," Basil glared back defiantly, lowering himself into a fighting stance –despite the obvious signs of injuries and fatigue that marked his body. Despite the fact that he was even trembling to keep himself upright at this moment. "These rings belong to Lord Sawada! Thou hast no claim to them!"_

"_Tch. Impertinent brat."_

_Glass shattered; broken shards scattering everywhere as Basil was bodily flung through a window._

"_HIIIIIE! A-Are you alright?"_

"_F-Forgive me, Lord Sawada," Basil rasped out, slowly sitting up again. To the side, Tsuna wrung his hands nervously. "I had not thought he… would follow me all the way here."_

_Squalo raised an eyebrow._

"_Oh? Who's the other brat?"_

_Tsuna stiffened at being singled out by the dangerous man, visibly panicking._

"_Worthless." Squalo rolled his eyes, "I'll kill you right along with-"_

_He was abruptly cut off as a stick of dynamite exploded near his feet; abandoning his words midsentence as he leaped to the side to avoid the blast._

"_Don't you dare lay a hand on Juudaime!"_

_Hayato. And, walking sedately right beside him, Takeshi. From the aggressiveness in their movements –it was clear that they were planning to confront Squalo in combat._

"_Stop!" Basil shouted, a hint of desperation and panic in his voice. "That man, he is not someone thou can win against!"_

_And it was true._

_Squalo had no trouble knocking them down. For him, it was completely effortless as he swung his sword and watched them fall._

"_Weaklings, all of you," he sneered. "Now, hand over the rings!"_

_It was an overwhelming, one-sided victory._

…

_Then._

_Gunshot._

_Three shots, in quick succession. Squalo shifted left to avoid the first bullet, only to find the second right in front of his face –and when he moved further left to avoid that one, the third bullet was already grazing his skin. It was a testament to his skills that he was still able to dodge all of them by changing his momentum at the moment so that he rolled into a smooth flip; twisting over all three bullets and landing in a catlike crouch._

_I lowered the smoking gun in my hands._

"_Leave. You have what you came here for, do you not?"_

"_Ts-Ts-Tsubaki?"_

"_Tsuna," I gave a small nod of acknowledgment to the brunet still sprawled on the ground. Then, in a reprimanding manner: "As I suspected, you're the cause of this disturbance, aren't you?"_

_He blanched, and I turned back towards the Varia vice-captain._

"_Leave," I repeated myself, raising the gun in my hands again. "As a member of Namimori Middle's Disciplinary Committee, I will not allow anyone to disturb the peace in Namimori."_

…

_BANG._

* * *

"Voi, hand over those rings!"

I slipped behind Romario as Dino stepped forward confidently. We'd just arrived in Namimori mere moments ago –Iemitsu had headed off on his own while we came here instead, where Tsuna and Basil were currently facing-

"Man, Squalo, you really haven't changed a bit." Dino cracked the whip in his hands as the aforementioned assassin whipped around to face him at the sound of his voice. "But don't you think it's embarrassing, picking on some kids?"

"… The Bucking Horse?" It was clear he hadn't expected the Cavallone Boss's presence here, and Dino took full advantage of the surprise.

"If you don't stop these disgusting actions right _now," _the last note was filled with authority, and more than a hint of a threat as his eyes narrowed. "You'll have to face me as your opponent."

In response, Squalo gave a shark-like grin.

"I've got no problem killing you right here, Bucking Horse," he laughed carelessly, "It's just that if I do, the higher-ups are going to nag at me for killing the leader of an allied enemy."

He relaxed his stance, though I knew it was only a misdirection technique against us. "Since you're here to stick up for these pathetic brats, I'll just quietly…"

_Dino, you idiot. Why are you relaxing your stance, too? It might not matter now, but if this keeps up, then… in the future when we have to fight-_

"… _not go home!_"

Yanking Tsuna up by his hair, Dino letting out a startled shout before his whip lashed towards the Varia assassin-

Smoke billowed everywhere, completely obscuring our surroundings.

(Small wonder that Iemitsu had been reluctant to increase my pay, considering this was the type of collateral damage that he had to pay for all the time.)

"M-Miss Tsubaki?"

"Hi Basil," I kept my voice cheerful as I stood in front of him, having jumped down and deflected the stray shrapnel flying this way. Neither of the two was in any condition to properly protect themselves anymore. "Greetings to you, too, Vongola Decimo."

Tsuna's jaw had dropped open at my sudden appearance in front of them, apparently at a loss for words –not that I could blame him for feeling that way. He wasn't yet used to people trying to kill him at almost every given opportunity.

The smile on my face faded at that thought.

_No. Don't think about that right now. There are still several years to go before any of that happens, right?_

"I'll leave these pathetic pieces of scum to you, Dino Cavallone, since I'm feeling generous today." Squalo's voice echoed loudly in the still-clearing dust, "For now, I'll be satisfied with just taking _these."_

Basil gave a small start when he saw what the Varia assassin held in his hands.

"The Vongola Rings!"

"The Vongola Rings?"

Panic and confusion; Basil and Tsuna's reactions, respectively.

"He's gone," I barely caught a glimpse of Squalo vaulting over another rooftop as he made his quick getaway. Impressive as usual, that man. "That was pretty fast, wasn't it?"

"W-Who was that?" Tsuna's eyes were still wide from lingering panic, "What was he doing here? And why did he just try to kill me? Reborn, what –what happened just now? Why didn't you help?"

Had Iemitsu contacted Reborn yet? What would the baby hitman make of my reactions if I chose to reply? Better not to risk it for now, not until I knew for sure he wasn't going to kill me for any little slip-up.

"I'm not allowed to fight him, Dame-Tsuna," the pseudo-infant responded easily.

"Ehhh?"

"He's a part of the Vongola, too."

"… _That makes no sense, Reborn!"_

A hand fell on my shoulder.

"I'll take care of things here, Tsubaki." Dino patted me as he strode over, "You should probably go and get started on the assignment that Iemitsu gave you, right?"

I made a small sound of assent in the back of my throat.

Good to see that Dino clearly had some sort of wariness in him still. Even if it was aimed towards me, and not towards…

"Guess I'll be leaving, then." I spared a glance in Takeshi and Hayato's direction –good, Squalo hadn't gone too hard on them, if they could still get to their feet again. "See you all later, then."

The Ring Battles.

This was the first step to Tsuna taking the mantle as Vongola Decimo –the first step where they began reaching for power; fighting to grow stronger as the bonds between them strengthened. Kyoya and Mukuro could deny it all they liked, it still didn't change the fact that this was the first challenge that began uniting all of them together.

I quickly sketched a small bow to Reborn, before beating a hasty retreat not unlike Squalo had done just now.

I'd really rather not prolong the time I spent in Reborn's company –at least, not before he had a chance to meet with Iemitsu and decide to take me off the 'kill if suspicious' list.

* * *

"_A-Ano, um… Tsubaki, c-can I ask you a question?"_

_A slight tremor in the voice. A note that faltered from nervousness, no doubt._

"_Ask away, Tsuna."_

_A small smile, trying to put the brunet at ease. It worked a little, somewhat._

_He swallowed._

"_W-What's it like, being a bounty hunter?"_

_I raised an eyebrow at the unexpected query._

_Where did this question come from?_

"_W-Well, I mean, you're like, around my age, and you're already going around h-hunting criminals," the young boy babbled upon seeing my expression, "I-It's not exactly normal, so I was just wondering…"_

"_I see." I paused to think for a moment, inwardly debating on how to go about answering this question, before I spoke. "I guess… it can be a lot of things, really. Sometimes it's exciting, the thrill of the chase. Sometimes it's fun, when you're facing a challenge. But most of the time, it's scary."_

"_Ehhh?"_

"_Surprised?" A crooked edge to the smile on my lips. "Yes, it's scary for me. I'm actually not a very good fighter, y'know. It's why I got kicked out of the Varia in the first place."_

"_What?" His eyes widened, "B-but then… why-?"_

"_Why am I still part of the mafia?" I stood up from my seat on the porch, stretching as I tried to play off the sore topic as nothing, "Same reason as you, I guess."_

"_Huh?"_

"_You don't want to be a mafia boss. Heck, you don't even do well at school, and you're always a target for bullies." A flush spread over his cheeks from embarrassment, and I rushed to fix my words. "Hey, don't be like that; it was practically the same thing for me, except Varia-style. Trust me, that's not something you want to experience –okay, getting off topic. Back to what I was saying –even with your questionable self-esteem, you still fight. Why?"_

"_W-Well…" Tsuna seemed to be thrown for a loop now that the questioning was turned on him. "I guess it's because there's always so many crazy things going on, a-and I can't let my friends go into danger by themselves, so-"_

"_See?" I grinned._

"_Eh?"_

"_It's the same for me. I've got friends –family– who I want to protect, Tsuna." The grin turned into something more of a wan smile, "And the only way to do that is to get stronger. _That_ is why I chose to stick to life in the mafia, even though it's scary. After all, what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger, right?"_

…

* * *

I stared up at the tall, decrepit building.

To be honest, I hadn't expected to come here until a few years later, not until everything had been shot to hell and back and we were using this as a last-resort base of sorts. Admittedly, current circumstances were much, much better than the ones I'd been expecting –but still.

I'd never been particularly fond of this place.

_Dilly-dally, shilly-shally._

Sighing, I pushed open the doors and walked in. No sense in delaying things again.

"Who the hell are you?"

Clawed hands, directly in front of my face. It was completely natural to raise the tsurugi in my hands and bat it to the side, before ramming the end of the sheathed blade into the boy's stomach –hard enough to send him flying back, but not so hard as to disable him.

Then I registered just who it was that'd attacked me.

"Such an enthusiastic welcome," I remarked dryly, stepping over the rotting doorframe. "Truly, I am touched by this heartwarming reception."

Ken wheezed from where he was curled on the ground, glaring daggers at me all the while.

"Fine, fine, I'll cut to the chase." Stepping over the doorway and walking into the dark room, I snapped my fingers and watched with satisfaction as the fraying light bulb sputtered and flickered to life again. "I'm not here to pick a fight or kill you or whatever your ridiculously mistrustful minds can think of. I've been sent here by Sawada Iemitsu, the External Advisor of Vongola, to train the Decimo candidate Sawada Tsunayoshi's Mist Guardian."

That was a bit of a mouthful to say–

"We don't need you here," Ken sneered, recovering his breath and clambering to his feet again. "We can train the useless girl perfectly fine without of your supposed help! Vongola –we don't need any of your favors!"

I crossed my arms.

"Mukuro might be able to teach her some tricks of being an illusionist before it's time for her to fight, but you forget –if her physical body isn't able to withstand the strain of actual combat, it'll all be useless. You don't seriously think she can win just by standing there and casting illusions, do you?"

Because Chrome was, essentially, a civilian.

A civilian girl who lived a lonely and antisocial life, neglected and abandoned by her parents, waiting to die in an empty hospital after that car accident –until Mukuro had chanced upon her. Her fighting skills had always been a little lacking; illusions were something she caught onto easily with her Mist flames, but there was only so much Mukuro could teach her while being confined in Vendicare. Illusions were important for a Mist user, yes, but illusions weren't the only thing that mattered in a battle.

What if she needed to dodge out of the way of an attack, and wasn't fast enough? What if she needed to run, but ended up tripping over her own feet? What if she needed to jump, but couldn't leap high enough?

That had been Iemitsu's logic behind sending me here to Kokuyo Land. To bring Chrome's physical abilities up to par, while Mukuro would take care of the illusion half of things.

"Oh? What would you suggest, then?"

I tried not to show any reaction to hearing Chrome's voice, twisted and speaking in a tone that only Mukuro would use.

"Is that you, Rokudo Mukuro?" I smiled, shifting my gaze.

Chrome. Blue-violet hair and pale, pale skin that was borderline unhealthy. She was young, so young –much younger and fragile-looking than I remembered in my memories. But in the end, that was all they were; memories.

She had a hand propped up against her cheek casually as she reclined in the seat, elbow rested elegantly on the armrest of her chair, one leg neatly crossed over another in an almost regal sort of manner –but what really caught my attention wasn't the Mukuro-esque demeanor but the glowing, mismatched eyes staring at me. Such familiar eyes…

Outwardly, I remained completely calm and unaffected. "I heard from Iemitsu that you could use this girl as a vessel, but to hear from others and to see it with my own eyes… those are two entirely different matters."

"Kufufufu," the laugh was strangely chilling, coming from Chrome's throat. "How flattering. Is that really what you think, hm?"

To his side, Chikusa adjusted his glasses and raised the yo-yo's in his hand menacingly.

"I'm sure you'll have no problems teaching the girl all she needs to know about illusions," Better up to clear things up before they degenerated any further; I was here to _help_, not to instigate another conflict. God knows Tsuna and Reborn could do enough of that on their own. "I'm only here to bring her physical abilities up to par. Nothing more, nothing less."

A strange gleam in those dual-colored eyes at my words.

"What makes you think we'll accept Vongola charity?"

"It's not charity," I responded easily, having half-expected those words. "Think of this as an investment on their behalf –Sawada Iemitsu believes you and Chrome will be useful to Tsuna as his Mist Guardians in the future; that is the sole reason why he wants to make sure she knows how to fight by herself."

Chrome –or rather, Mukuro– arched an eyebrow, smiling.

"An investment?" He laughed, "Fools."

Bitter. Jaded.

Then again, Mukuro had always been like this in the beginning.

I still remembered–

"_Hey, Mukuro?"_

"_Hm?"_

"_Back then, why did you accept the position of Mist Guardian? You did realize that this would bind you to Vongola for the rest of your life, right?"_

"_Silly girl. It was simply another opportunity that I took advantage of –one which I could use to take another step closer to taking over Sawada Tsunayoshi's body and destroy this world."_

_Big words, Mukuro._

_So why haven't you followed through with them yet, hm?_

_It's a lie._

_You didn't accept simply because of opportunity, because of power-_

_Part of the reason why you accepted –no; the main reason that you actually accepted, even if you yourself weren't aware of it at the time– it was because the candidate that Iemitsu wanted you to be a Mist Guardian for is Tsuna._

_Tsuna._

_Sawada Tsunayoshi._

* * *

…

_Ken remembered the weird assassin-girl. Kind of._

_She'd been with the idiot Vongola Decimo's little group when they first confronted them in Kokuyo Land, hadn't she? Except, she'd abandoned them halfway through? Something like that? He didn't have much of an impression of her, it was more of her scent that he remembered than she herself in person, because –honestly?_

_Kakipii smelled like whatever soaps he was using at the moment, and of reliability and loyalty. The vessel-girl smelled like age-old hospitals and morgues, and of a sort of nervous unease and quiet determination._

_As for the assassin-girl, well…_

_Ken scowled._

_The assassin-girl smelled like blood._

_It'd been the reason why he'd attacked before even half-recognizing her –all that his mind had registered in that moment was that there was something dangerous approaching them, that Mukuro wasn't here, that he had to protect his pack no matter what–_

_He didn't really remember anything in particular about the assassin-girl, true. But now that she was here with them…_

_("It's just another job; God knows how I got saddled with something like this again when I'm supposed to be a freelancer. I plead temporary insanity.")_

_Grudgingly, he admitted that she actually seemed to know what she was doing, as if this wasn't her first time teaching. Vessel-girl's reactions to being attacked were starting to become less stilted and jerky than they were in the beginning, her illusions steadily being conjured faster and faster, until all he could see between the two were bursts of indigo flames as reality was distorted and warped right in front of him–_

_For all the good it did. _

_Those illusions had nothing on Mukuro's own and they were never enough to put the assassin-girl down; sometimes it was tapping vessel-girl on the shoulder, other times it was poking her in the side, all the while nimbly dancing through whatever was thrown at her–_

_(The equivalent of saying, "Hey, I could've killed you just now, y'know. Multiple times." Ken felt himself bristle just at the sight of it –who did she think she was, handling Mukuro's vessel like that?)_

"_Well, that's enough for today." Assassin-girl stepped back when the vessel-girl wavered on her feet and finally collapsed on the ground. Some vessel she made, tiring so easily like that. Ken knew that he'd definitely have lasted longer against assassin-girl. "We'll start working on stamina. Your reaction speed itself isn't too bad, but there's room for improvement. We'll have to work on your reactions themselves as well –don't just shrink back all the time; you have to take initiative and counterattack whenever you see an opening. Sounds good?"_

_The vessel-girl nodded mutely, unable to muster up enough breath to respond verbally. Ken sneered at the docile act. If she hadn't been their vessel for communicating with Mukuro, if she hadn't been the only link they had to him, if he hadn't scented that steely determination hidden underneath the folds of her disgustingly pathetic demeanor–_

_He gave a small start as the bloody assassin-girl brushed past him, instinctively wrinkling his nose. When had she even moved?_

"_I'll be staying somewhere around this place," she waved a hand at Kokuyo Land in general. Ken couldn't help but follow the path of that wave, all but seeing the drops of blood dripping from her fingertips. "See you here at eight in the morning. I'll catch you all later. Maybe. Chrome for sure, at least. Bye."_

_Then she disappeared, before any of them had a chance to reply –not that they needed to nor wanted to._

_He let out the breath he hadn't known he'd been holding when she left. Relief._

_At least she knew not to encroach on territory. _

_The assassin-girl, as far as Ken was concerned, wasn't pack. Far from it –Mukuro was pack leader and Kakipii was fellow pack-mate, a rank which the vessel-girl had been reluctantly given. But even though assassin-girl was sent here to train vessel-girl, that didn't mean he was comfortable with assassin-girl's presence amongst them. That didn't automatically mean she was pack, because pack was so much more than that._

_And she'd been sent here by Vongola, after all, and Ken didn't trust any of those Mafioso. Didn't, couldn't, wouldn't–_

"_What do you think, Ken?"_

_Soap. Pack-mate. Reliable and loyal. Kakipii._

"_I don't like it." His lips twisted, baring his fangs. "Vongola never does something without strings attached."_

"_It's not like we can get rid of her," Kakipii pointed out calmly, ever the voice of logic. Stupid logic._

_True, they couldn't get rid of her. Not immediately, at any rate. She was strong; much stronger than any one of them, and probably even stronger than all three of them combined –not that she had anything on Mukuro, still, but… but Mukuro wasn't here._

_So._

"_Tch," he roughly jammed his hands into his pockets and turned, feeling more than seeing Kakipii fall into step beside him as vessel-girl scrambled to follow. "She's strong, and she's here to train the vessel. Mukuro already gave his permission. That's all we need to care about."_

* * *

_._

_..._

_._

* * *

Author's Notes:

Hi everyone. It's XxZuiliu again.

Always kinda wondered –if Chrome was basically a civilian before being rescued by Mukuro, how come she was even able to fight in the battle with Mammon? Illusions only do so much, to an extent, without any actual combat training… Ken and Chikusa, maybe? Couldn't really imagine them teaching her though so voila. xD

Ken's POV was fun to write. :3 He'll address Chrome and OCTsubaki by their names in dialogue, but what he labels them as in his mind, well… xD

No Vongola ring for Tsubaki, though I think that's pretty much to be expected lol. She'll be cast in the role of a teacher while Tsuna&amp;co. dukes it out with the Varia. Fun times.

Also, "Polaris" has been updated again, if anyone happens to be interested. :3

**QUESTION: **Does anyone mind that we're also doing minor characters' POVs at the end of the chapter?

(First was characters like Reborn and Tsuna, and now we include people like Basil and Ken. We won't be sticking to any main/minor characters in particular, but does anyone mind that we're not always sticking to main characters' POVs?)

Till next time,

XxZuiliu


	9. 01: 9 As a Teacher

_A distant scream. One that was familiar._

_I ducked under another burst of crackling Lightning flames, dashing forward and stabbing out with the dagger in my hand. My blood felt cold, even though my muscles were burning. The sharp edge of my steel knife met that familiar resistance of flesh and blood as I tore through the man's body, and then-_

_Crimson droplets scattered everywhere._

_And around us, the battle raged on._

_Storm flames swept high into cloudy skies, Sun flames glowing brightly in the darkness, metal biting through skin and shattering bones as the site of carnage sprawled out endlessly, endlessly, endlessly…_

_I sidestepped another stream of Lightning flames, spinning and bringing down another Lightning user. Damn bastards._

"_You alright, Mukuro?"_

_A question which wasn't much of a question, more of an errant comment between comrades-in-arms as I flipped over him, one hand using his shoulder to propel myself forward and drive the dagger into a man's skull._

"_Kufufu. Your concern for me is touching, but don't think I'll die so easily." Even in the heat of battle, he still managed to pull off that patronizing look of amusement, as if this was all a game to him. The numerous injuries littering his body said otherwise. "Chrome is ahead –run along and lend her a hand, will you?"_

_And, seeing my hesitation to leave him alone to face the oncoming forces:_

"_I'll catch up later."_

_I bit my lip._

_I knew why he was doing this. That scream earlier, the one that'd chilled my blood. Chrome's voice, no doubt about it. _

_She was in danger._

_(But so was Mukuro, even if he didn't show any signs of being affected by the strenuous toll that these battles always had on us...)_

_Chrome._

…

"… _Alright, I'll be heading on, then." I pinned him with a sharp look, "I'll hold you to those words, Mukuro. Don't you dare die on us, not like–"_

_A wave of scarlet Storm flames cut between us, and I flinched back, tearing off the part of my sleeve that'd caught fire. Mukuro raised his hand and gave me a 'shoo' gesture before the flames flared up again, and we parted._

…

…

…

_Mukuro had always been a skilled liar._

* * *

Nagi.

Or rather, Chrome Dokuro, according to the name she was going by right now. Most of the time, I remembered her to prefer being addressed as 'Chrome,' for that was the name Mukuro had given her after granting her a second chance at life –but on occasion, I'd heard Mukuro address her as 'Nagi,' and she hadn't protested. Then again, it was _Mukuro, _so...

_She's always been such a sweet girl in her own quiet way._

I briefly dipped my head in greeting, watching as she hurriedly copied the movement. She lacked confidence; that was a fact that stared me right in the face as she fidgeted uncomfortably in front of me –for an illusionist, their state of mind was the most important thing that they carried with them in battle. Belief in their flames, belief in themselves, and belief in their strength of will.

At the moment, her only belief, perhaps, was in Mukuro.

(Which, well, wasn't very healthy.)

… _Like I'm one to talk about a healthy state of mind._

I brushed away the thought and ran my eyes over her again.

_Hesitation. Unease. Fear._

Those were all weaknesses that she hadn't yet learned to get rid of. If my guess was right, Mukuro would probably use Ken and Chikusa to train her physical abilities while he himself took charge of teaching her illusions; that would explain why she was always fairly well-prepared for the Mist battle –but if I was to have a hand in it now, then…

…

Frankly, I didn't like this.

This entire training situation in general, I didn't… it just didn't sit well with me. I had been very tempted to throw the contract right back in Iemitsu's face when he approached me with it on the plane, but refusal at that point would've been equal to defiance –discounting the fact that it was a _Cavallone_ plane I'd been traveling on, and the Cavallone had always been allied with Vongola.

True, this wasn't a real fight… heck, it was only a watered-down version of instructional sparring, almost. And yet, every fiber of my being still protested against fighting her. Or against any of them, really. Bel and Squalo had already been hard enough, but in a way, it was also infinitely easier to fight against them –if nothing else, then because they could actually _fight_, and were seasoned assassins who could easily kill without even batting an eyelash.

Chrome, on the other hand, was an entirely different matter.

_But this is for training. It's to help her improve. This is for her own good._

Sighing, I decided to get things started again. However reluctant I felt, I couldn't afford to let it show. And I was here for a legitimate reason, wasn't I?

"Let's start, Chrome. Attack me."

I took it as a good sign when she only hesitated briefly before vines began twisting out of the ground and winding up my body, holding me in place.

It wouldn't be strong enough against Mammon, though.

Easily stepping through the vines and disappearing in a blur of movement, I stood directly behind Chrome for a full second before leaning forward and tapping her gently on the shoulder, watching as her eyes widened when she whirled around.

"Even if you can conjure illusions, if you don't do so quickly enough…" I trailed off, knowing that she got my point. A verbal reinforcement of what I was trying to hammer into her.

I let her stumble back from me and twisted to the side as more vines burst from the ground. This time, as soon as I took a step towards her again, another swarm of vines exploded from under my feet began converging on me almost immediately.

"That's better," I smiled encouragingly, before escaping its grasp and landing behind her in the exact same spot. "Again."

There was still a long way to go before she'd be able to hold her own in a battle. But as she twisted around, instinctively bringing up the trident in her hands–

_Yes. You have a weapon in your hands, don't just hold it. _Use _it._

She would improve.

I'd make sure of it.

Her stamina needed work. Not even a few minutes into battle yet, and she was already tiring. While illusionists weren't required to be physically fit (look at Mukuro; trapped in Vendicare's water prison and still able to fight), it was infinitely easier for them to sustain their illusions if their body could withstand the strain –in other words, physical condition.

(I'd never really understood how Mukuro was able to pull of the things he did on a daily basis, as easily as breathing. Maybe it had something to do with the Estraneo?)

But other than muscle-building exercises, there was also reaction speed. This was something that applied to her illusions more directly –if she couldn't react fast enough to an illusion attacking her, well…

…

Aside from the two main problems, there was also the matter of her… health.

Up until now, she'd been living in a hospital. A hospital that had given her up for dead. Even living with Ken and Chikusa, who were beginning to care for her, she was still far too pale and skinny for my peace of mind. She was _fragile _–almost as if a rough wind would be enough to knock her over.

…

"Take a break, Chrome." She all but crumpled to the ground, panting, and I felt a brief stab of guilt for pushing her this far. "I'll be going out for a bit. We'll have another quick spar in the evening. We've got approximately ten days together, so let's make the most of it, ne?"

I flitted out the door without waiting for a response, afraid that too many words would spill from my lips if I didn't cut it off now and reign myself in.

After all, it'd happened many times before. If I wasn't careful, if I didn't watch myself –what was there to stop it from happening again?

_Nothing. Absolutely nothing._

* * *

"_Chrome? Chrome, answer me! Damn it girl, open your eyes! Chrome!"_

_A single blue eye flitted open, followed by a red one. A tired smile fell over bloody lips, and pale fingers gently brushed the back of my hand as she blinked slowly. She was pale, so pale, and there was so much blood and I didn't know what to do where was Lussuria and Ryohei I couldn't take care of this–_

"_I'm… I'm sorry…"_

"_Don't tell me you're sorry," a strangled sound tore from my throat, shrill and desperate. "Tell that to Mukuro."_

_Something strangely sympathetic and understanding in that bloody smile of hers._

"… _Sorry…"_

_And my heart froze as her body slackened in my arms._

"_No." Shaking my head, tightening my grip on her– "No. Nono_no, _you… you can't do this to me! To _us! _Chrome Dokuro, you are NOT going to let yourself die here, y'hear me? Don't you dare! You're not allowed to die! We're going to make it out of here if it's the last thing we do, so you have to hang on, okay?"_

…

…

…

_How many times must this cycle repeat itself?_

_Endlessly, endlessly, endlessly._

_I'm sorry._

_I failed you._

_Again._

…

* * *

"Kakimoto, Joshima… Chrome."

My lazy greeting had their heads snapping around to face me. Unease, suspicion… those were emotions that I was long used to seeing in their eyes, time and time again. A familiar twinge of pain in my chest, and I shoved it down down _down _and smiled disarmingly as I leaned against the doorframe.

Ken scowled.

"What the hell are you doing here again?"

I didn't respond, instead running a critical eye over the wrappers littered around them. Sandwiches and chips and other convenience-store-bought-snacks. Either they were on a seriously small budget, or they put no value whatsoever into nutrition. Knowing them, it was probably a combination of the two factors. It wasn't as if they had any source of income right now, and I certainly couldn't imagine Mukuro bringing up the value of healthy eating in any conversation. The importance of nutrition wouldn't be a topic that their tenure with the Estraneo would've exposed them to, anyways.

It wasn't as if I hadn't expected this, but seeing them like this, cluttered around on the ground like that, it… hurt.

Which was why I'd gone out in the first place.

I tossed the warm plastic bag in my hands in their direction, ignoring Ken's indignant shout and the way Chikusa's eyes furrowed, and how Chrome shrunk into herself a little more. None of them reached out to catch it, and it landed squarely in the middle of their little triangle.

"I bought it from one of the shops in the center of town just now." I kept my voice light and nonchalant, eyes holding their gaze evenly. They say that eyes are windows to the soul, that they easily betray your inner thoughts –but once you've had enough practice at it, when you could control it and not let those thoughts slip through… "I won't have Chrome collapsing on me in the middle of training because of something as simple as malnourishment. Oh, and if you're worried about me putting poison in it –don't be. Vongola will have my head if I do that."

Ken bristled from the mere implication that I held any sort of responsibility over them. Which wasn't exactly the message I was trying to impart on them –and it wasn't like I _wanted _that responsibility heaped on me, anyways; it was a scrutiny I could certainly do without.

Iemitsu had been very clear on that aspect in that contract. Since I wasn't affiliated with the Vongola, I would be the first to fall under suspicion if the Kokuyo group was hurt in any way during the brief time I was in charge of bringing Chrome up to par.

Making sure she was eating well could be interpreted as part of this task, since she was so pale and thin and I was worried that she–

"Why are you doing this?"

Chikusa.

"This isn't- we're not- Vongola won't-" the wariness in his gaze hadn't ebbed a bit since laying eyes on me, his voice still that soft monotone I'd recognize anywhere, even as he stumbled in picking out his words. "You're not obligated to do… _this_."

_Yes, I'm not obligated to do so. Yes, I'm only here for the purpose of training Chrome and helping her prepare for her Ring Battle. Yes, I'm only expected to show up a few times each day and leave them to their own devices for practically everything else. I'm not obligated to do anything like this for them._

And, as far as they were concerned, I was only an assassin contracted by the Vongola for this 'babysitting' job. I wasn't really expected to… _do anything_, I wasn't supposed to… overstep my bounds, in any way whatsoever. No assassin would; in a world where distance and detachment were the words of the day. Stick to the contract and take not a single step out of line. No more and no less.

As an assassin, what I was doing right now was illogical and unreasonable. Small wonder that Chikusa was calling me out on it, but I'd already prepared a response beforehand.

"As Chrome's temporary teacher for the time being, her physical wellbeing also falls under part of my responsibilities," I stated simply and blandly. Professionalism. Remember the professionalism. "… I'm leaving. I'll be back around six."

Spinning on my heel before any of them could say another word, I closed the door behind me and let out a low exhale.

In a way, I suppose was lucky that they'd focused on confronting me verbally like that. And I had a perfectly valid reason to explain myself with, even if it leaned a little towards the unusual side. True, my actions were more than a bit perplexing for the average freelancer, but considering the reputation that Tsuna was already cultivating for himself –hopefully this wouldn't be seen as something _too _preposterous. Tsuna and his bleeding heart, how he tried to save Mukuro even after…

_Focus on the present._

… Well.

I straightened from where I'd started leaning against the door and began walking away; my steps brisk and clean.

Lucky. Such a strange word to associate myself with. I was lucky that they hadn't thought to look into the bag before questioning me. Otherwise, I'd have to explain why there were three boxed lunches instead of just one. Nothing that I couldn't handle, since I'd prepared a response for that as well, but…

…

I didn't like fishing for excuses and reaching for lies.

Even if I was damned good at it.

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how I chose to look at it.

* * *

"_Hm, what's this? I didn't peg you for a liar, Tsubaki."_

"… _Shut up."_

"_Kufufu. Is that really any way you should be talking to me right now?"_

_Inhale._

_Exhale._

_Breathe._

"_Mukuro... Leave me alone."_

_Instead, the dichromatic-eyed boy sat down beside me, the smile on his lips broader than ever. His body language expressed that he clearly had no intentions of leaving, and I turned my back towards him._

_He laughed again._

"_Tsunayoshi is quite upset right now, y'know. He thinks you've been lying ever since the first time you met him."_

_He thinks? He _knows. _He knows that I've been lying to him._

_I didn't want to, but I had to._

…

… _I hate it. I don't want to lie. I hate lying. I don't want to lie to any of them, I don't want to lie to my family…_

_... But what other choice do I have?_

"_I must admit to my own curiosity. Discarding all these lies you've woven over the years, many of the things you seem to know aren't exactly common knowledge. And there's also your gift of… foresight. Almost uncanny, wouldn't you say?"_

"…"

"_Well? Still no response?" He carelessly twirled the trident in his hands, though we both knew it would take something far more dire to happen between us for him to try and kill me. "Tsubaki, Tsubaki… you can't hold your silence forever."_

_I know._

_I know I can't._

_But…_

…

_It's so much easier to hide behind lies than face the truth._

_Even if they'll hate me for it._

…

* * *

_Chrome watched as Ken scowled and punched another hole in the wall._

"_Tch. She's looking down on us again, isn't she? Bitch."_

_Privately, Chrome disagreed. Tsubaki was a little scary and offsetting at first, but she didn't seem arrogant or cruel or malicious… a little distant, perhaps, but that was only to be expected. But then again, it wasn't as if she was familiar with the raven-haired girl, so what would she know about it? Maybe it was only an act, and she was good at hiding bloodlust and sadism. Mukuro said that all assassins were brilliant actors, didn't he?_

_Tsuabki was a good actor. Chrome had been looking into her eyes, looking for telltale signs of lying, and she hadn't been able to find anything. Literally, she hadn't been able to find anything. Tsubaki's voice held varying inflections of tones as she spoke, but there was always this sense that she was carefully choosing what tone to speak in before opening her mouth and letting the words fall out._

_And her eyes._

_They were so… empty._

"_She won't be here for long, Ken." Chikusa's voice sounded to her left. Tsubaki's voice had a wider range of emotions than Chikusa –everyone did, if she was honest with herself– but when she looked into Chikusa's eyes, when she really _looked, _it was like staring at a quicksilver stream of expressive emotions._

_And in Tsubaki, there was… nothing. Chrome thought she might've seen something oddly sad a few times in those dark eyes, but there was never time to ponder on it before she had to concentrate on trapping her temporary teacher in her illusions again._

_And wasn't it strange, that Tsubaki could slip through her illusions as easily as she did? Was it just extensive experience with illusions that'd taught her how to do so or was it something about the way her mind was structured? Chrome remembered Mukuro saying something about that, something like–_

"_Eh? What the hell is this?"_

_Three._

_Chrome stared at the bag in surprise. The white bag that Tsubaki had thrown their way before leaving._

_There were three sets of lunches inside. Still warm, heat fogging up and misting the containers._

_What had she said again?_

"_Oh, and if you're worried about me putting poison in it –don't be. Vongola will have my head if I do that."_

'_Vongola will have my head if I do that.' A confirmation that she was truly an outsider and not allied with Vongola. A neutral party sent on their behalf._

… _But even so, why would she…?_

_There was a funny look that crossed Ken's face as he stared at the food. Chrome wasn't sure what was going through his mind right now, wasn't quite sure how he was going to react –punch the wall again? Kick the food and let it spill on the ground? Stomp out of the room?_

_She kept quiet as she watched the two boys in front of her. Watching, watching._

_Something like rage in incredulity and scorn in Ken's eyes. Nothing too surprising, especially considering how he'd attacked Tsubaki that first day as soon as she stepped in through the door. And in Chikusa's eyes –there was still that glimmer of suspicion and unease, but also something like confusion and–_

"_The receipt is still here."_

_A moderately-priced bento. Not the cheapest thing on the list, nor was it the most extravagant meal. Certainly more nourishing than what she ate on a daily basis now, but she still wasn't sure if–_

"_I'll check it for poisons," Chikusa picked up the bag mechanically, "I think I have some–"_

"_Kakipii!" Ken exploded, all but frothing at the mouth. Chrome shuffled backward into her corner, idly wishing that Mukuro was here. Ken was scary when he was angry like this. "How can you just take it like this! That girl, she's not–"_

"_I'm fully aware that she's not trustworthy. She came on Vongola orders, after all. But have you considered the fact that our current funds are not enough for proper food? You and I can live perfectly fine like this, but Chrome is Mukuro's vessel, and with that battle coming up –we need every edge we can get."_

… _Every edge, wasn't it?_

_Because she was weak. Chrome knew she was weak. And she knew that they were trying to make her strong, and she was _trying_, but would it be enough?_

_She didn't want to be a disappointment again._

_She didn't want to disappoint Mukuro._

* * *

Author's Notes

Hi all. :3 XxZuiliu again, XxZuiyun should be back next time.

Small peek at Chrome's training here, a few earlier loops with Mukuro and Chrome. And a snippet of Chrome's POV at the end. Also, does the conversation in any of the loops sound vaguely familiar to you? (Hint: Earlier chapters xD) This chapter is a little more disjointed and cluttered than the usual, so sorry for that. Next chapter should be a bit better, I think? I hope. :3

Again, warning: Updates are probably going to start slowing down. xD Which, well, you might've noticed already, right?

Also, I've finally finished my first story! _Polaris_ was completed earlier this week, so I'm really happy for that. :3 I know I mentioned the possibility of an unofficial sequel of sorts for it in the AN over there, so I just want to drop a note here that it's gone from "pretty unlikely to be written" to "fairly likely to be written." :) Not much to do with this fic, I know, but I just wanted to let the word out for anyone who might be interested. xD

Next time, hopefully we can get to the start of the Ring Battles over here. Haha, I'm actually looking forward to writing Lambo's battle the most because of 10 and 20-years-later Lambo showing up in the fight via the Bovino Bazooka. Should be pretty interesting, no? But I guess we'll save that stuff for when we get there. ;3 That'll be a fun chapter to write, I think.

And as always, please keep an eye peeled for errors in the text so XxZuiyun and I can fix them ASAP. Thanks!

**QUESTION: **Which character's POV do you look forward to seeing most at the end of the next chapter?

Just, based on the fact that we're in the Ring Battles Arc right now (so please no nominating characters that are introduced in later arcs in the storyline). Name a character and a reason, please? :3 We'll be taking responses to this question into consideration as we type the next chapter.

Till next time,

XxZuiliu


	10. 01: 10 Thunderstruck

"_The Sun Guardians' battle has just ended."_

"Hmm, I see. Judging by your tone, I take it that things haven't exactly gone well on your end?"

Lazy, distracted air. Hiding the apprehension I felt from the dark undercurrent to his voice.

"… _Sasagawa Ryohei was defeated by Lussuria in his match. He didn't manage to bring his strength to its fullest potential, and Lussuria took advantage of that. Where were you?"_

"Kokuyo Land, of course." I idly twirled a strand of hair around my finger, careful to keep the cell phone to my ear with my other hand. "Why do you ask? Unless attendance is mandatory, I don't think we're required to… no, it's not, is it? Maybe you just want to keep an eye on me and make sure I haven't hightailed it out of Namimori with your son's Mist Guardians yet? Your faith in me is truly astounding, Sawada."

"_Brat."_

Iemitsu's deadpan response tickled a small laugh from my throat.

"Okay, okay, I'll bring Chrome to the next one." I smiled, dropping the lock of hair I was playing with, "She's been working on her illusions all day today with Mukuro, so I didn't want to tire her out even more by watching that battle just now. Civilian, remember? Right now, she needs all the rest she can get. But if you want them to be present for the matches, I'll switch up her schedule so they'll be there to watch. Anything I should know about the fight tomorrow?"

"_It's going to be the battle between the two Lightning Guardians. The location should be on the rooftop of Namimori Middle's tallest building. As for the time, it should be the same as tonight."_

"I see."

"_How is her training progressing so far? Her battle will be coming up soon."_

"… As well as it can be, I guess. Her illusions are getting stronger every day, and the physical conditioning exercises are working, too. She's definitely combat-ready now. With a little more practice, I believe she'll be able to stand her ground on her own merit, but… as far as I can tell, it's unlikely that she'll be able to wrangle a victory from the Varia. Her improvement is impressive, but expecting her to be able to defeat Mammon like this is just…"

For a moment, I was greeted by silence on the other end as I trailed off.

Well. Iemitsu would've known this from the start. No matter how you looked at it, it was impossible to get Chrome's fighting abilities to Varia-level in such a short timespan. What she'd already managed to accomplish so far was nothing short of miraculous, but even then–

"… _As for Mukuro, then?"_

I openly laughed.

"That was almost funny, Sawada. Need you even ask about him?"

"_Humor me."_

Looks like Ryohei's tie with Lussuria had certainly left an impact. "Fine, fine. Mukuro will _annihilate _anyone in his way, Varia quality or not."

"_That's certainly good to hear. I'll hold you to those words, Tsubaki."_

Good thing it was Mukuro who I was taking a gamble on, then.

* * *

_Cold._

_Quiet._

_Still._

_A small breeze, barely stirring the soft blades of overgrown grass underfoot, swaying lightly to an invisible tune. Hands clasped together, lips thinned into a tight line, eyes stinging but resolutely kept dry of tears. _

_(Because I'd told myself I wouldn't cry again, ever. Even though I wanted nothing more than to let those tears fall right now, to relieve than burning pain and anguish that would never disappear, because in front of me was–)_

_Another gravestone._

…

_(Was this my fate? Forever doomed to failure, forever burying my friends, my family? Forever doomed to watching loved ones die? How many times has it been already?)_

… _Tired._

_(I'm so, so tired of all of this. Tired of this happening again and again. Tired of the same outcome.)_

_Why._

_Does this._

_Keep._

_Happening?_

…

_WHY?_

_(Why him?)_

"_Tsubaki, are you… are you feeling alright?"_

_A familiar voice. One that used to be young and innocent, and was now tainted dark and heavy as the years passed and our troubles began._

"_No." Strangled sob, choked laughter. I couldn't quite suppress the bitter note in my tone, the snap in my voice, even though I knew he didn't deserve to be an outlet for my grief. No one did. "What made you jump to that conclusion, Lambo? Just… just go back to the base and look for I-pin or something, alright? I don't want to talk to anyone right now, so leave me be. I don't want to–"_

"_You're _hurting_, Tsubaki."_

…

_I closed my eyes, and his voice sounded again, this time closer behind me._

"_I told him not to do it. Everyone told him not to do it. We even outright forbade it, but… but he just had to go ahead and… and… He's always so stubborn when it comes to things like this. I just… you should know, Tsubaki, it's not your fault. None of us could've stopped him from this. If anything, it should be our fault for not being able to stop him even though we–"_

_Something snapped._

"… _You knew? All of you? Then why… why didn't any of you tell me?! I could've gone and _done_ something, _anything_–"_

_The scarred young man pinned me with a _look, _and I fell silent_.

"_I know you would've." Lambo said quietly, lowering his gaze. "He knew, too, so… that's why he chose to go, Tsubaki."_

_Of course._

_Of course he did. _

… _Of course he would've done something so monumentally _stupid _and _suicidal _like that. In retrospect, I really should've seen it coming, I really should've… How could I not have known? How could I not have expected this? I still remembered his words, the last words we'd exchanged in that hallway –how could I not have known?_

_I fisted my hands, sharp nails biting deep into my palms and drawing blood._

"… _That doesn't mean it's alright." My voice was barely above a whisper when I spoke again._

"_No. It doesn't." Lambo agreed with me, "But the outcome remains the same. And… anyone who'd gone on that mission would've died."_

"…"

_He let out a soft sigh._

"… _Come back, Tsubaki." A plaintive, pleading note. "It's not healthy for you to spend so much time in the graveyard like this. Everyone is worried about you. How long are you planning to do this to yourself? It's not your fault."_

_I shook my head slowly._

"… _I'm sorry."_

…

* * *

Rain.

Hundreds of icy needles pounding into the asphalt ground, driven onwards by mercurial winds. Gray clouds had loomed over the sky ominously all day, so this nighttime rain wasn't exactly unexpected –but considering the match that was to be held soon, it certainly didn't bode well for anyone involved.

Water was, after all, an excellent conductor of electricity. I could only imagine the havoc that would be wreaked in a battle between Lightning flame users under this kind of weather.

(Technically speaking, it's the particles of minerals and other materials in water that actually allow it to conduct electric currents –pure water isn't much of a conductor at all. Rain water was certainly an impure form of water, though.)

"Tch, why do we have to be out here, anyways?"

Even though we were armed with ponchos and umbrellas, Ken's disgruntlement with being forced to come out was splayed across his face as clear as day. Chikusa was much better at hiding his displeasure, but the slight crease in his brow made it just as obvious that he'd rather be curled next to the heater back in Kokuyo Land, instead of heading to Namimori Middle on foot in the middle of a raging storm.

Chrome ducked her head a little as she clutched her umbrella closer to her, a flash of lightning forking its way across the sky before being followed by the low rumble of thunder.

"Bear with it, please, we're almost there." Another gust of wind brushed past our little group, and I had to hold down the hood of my gray poncho to prevent it from blowing away. "I'm sure we'll be able to find a spot with a nice view of the battle that's out of the rain. And out of their sight as well, since you guys are apparently reluctant to see the rest of them before it's time for the Mist Ring battle."

Namimori Middle.

Last time when I'd come to the school, Kyoya had attacked me for loitering. Would he be watching this battle? Or was he still on his training trip with Dino at the moment?

"Is that where we're headed?"

I looked up towards the direction Chikusa was pointing in.

Tall rods, standing high, organized in a circular formation. Even though I couldn't see it yet from this distance, I knew that there would be a web-like array of cords fixed to the ground between them. A crackle of lightning –and the entire floor lit up from being charged with the strong electric current, blindingly bright in all its terrifying intensity.

Elettrico Circuito.

"Yeah, that's the spot." I nodded, "I'll go greet them to let them know we're here; you guys can watch from wherever you'd like, I guess. Later."

Chikusa made an affirmative sound in his throat while Ken grunted, and I tossed a small wave over my shoulder before striding ahead and leaving them behind as they began scaling a different building with Chrome.

I wonder… what would happen this time? Would Lambo forfeit as soon as the match was announced? No, he had no sense of self-preservation yet, from the little of what I'd observed during my brief time here… Tsuna was opposed to Lambo participating as the Lightning Guardian on his behalf, but he hadn't explicitly forbidden Lambo from fighting. Ten Years Bazooka again? It was a possibility, certainly, and one that'd worked many times before. But if Lambo didn't manage to use it in time, then Levi would…

…

Well. There was a reason why Levi was feared for his cruelty, even amongst his own men in the Varia.

Holding the poncho tightly to my body and trying to keep my umbrella from being blown away as I hauled myself over the edge of the Namimori Middle buildings, I reached the rooftop just as I heard the shout of 'Lambo, fight!'

Tsuna, Hayato, Takeshi, Ryohei, and Lambo. Huddled together in a circle, doing their cheer together. Had I really once been part of that circle, too?

I landed silently, nothing but the pitter-patter of raindrops announcing my arrival.

"Hey, is Lambo really going to be okay?" Takeshi's voice easily carried into my ears as I neared the group and began composing my face into a neutral expression. "I mean, he's still a kid…"

"It doesn't even look like he's aware that this is an actual battle." Hayato snorted, casting the young child a dubious look.

Lambo had potential, that was a _fact _–but it was also a fact that it would take several more years before he'd begin growing into that untapped potential he had. Bovino-trained-from-birth or not, Lambo was only a child right now. His mind wouldn't grasp the concept of life-and-death for quite awhile yet –something that I was both glad and sad for.

Discreetly, I cast a glance towards Levi. He was standing in the middle of the Cervello-constructed field, dark and imposing and eyes filled with the promise of murder.

_No one will die tonight, not if I have any say about it._

"Lambo, listen to me." Tsuna was crouched in front of the distracted child, worry and concern etched in every line of his body even as Lambo continued jabbering on a mile a minute about what an awesome playground this was. "You don't have to fight if you don't want to. I don't know why my dad picked you, but I think it's wrong to have such a young kid thrown into this mess. This is a serious battle, Lambo –I don't want to see you get hurt and d–"

"Silly Dame-Tsuna, don't worry! The Great Lambo is invincible! Muhahaha!"

I couldn't help it; I laughed.

Lambo. I'd almost forgotten… how much of a _child _he could be.

"Ciaossu, Tsubaki."

"Hello, Reborn." I greeted, nodding to the tiny hitman, before turning to regard the rest of them. "Hello to you too, Sawada… Gokudera, Yamamoto, Sasagawa… Bovino."

Tsuna was in the middle of stuttering his response to me when Hayato slipped in front of him, scowling as he flung out an arm and took up a protective stance. Unnecessary, but a reaction that I approved of all the same, even as it sent a stinging prickle through my chest.

"What are _you _doing here?"

I smiled cheerily. "Watching, of course. I was called here."

"What do you mean?"

Such hostility.

I folded my arms in face of his vehement glare, "Well, seeing as I'm–"

"Please excuse us, but we must begin the battle for the Lightning Ring now." One of the two Cervello woman stepped forward, voice placid and bland. "If Sawada Tsunayoshi's Lightning Guardian candidate will now step forward, please."

And Lambo ran after her excitedly, eyes bright and fearless as he stepped onto the stage. Tsuna made a pitiful whimper in the back of his throat as he raised an arm to cover his eyes, muttering something about how he 'couldn't watch this anymore.' Hayato hastily tried to reassure him ("Don't worry! The stupid cow just has to use his bazooka, right?"), and Takeshi slung an arm around his shoulder ("Cheer up, Tsuna, I'm sure it's not as bad as what you're thinking."), while Ryohei cheered again ("Fight to the EXTREME, Lambo!").

Well.

There was definitely something strangely bizarre and jarring about watching such a young, carefree child cheerily bounce into the deadly confines of the Elettrico Circuito without a second thought, darting forward to poke at Levi brazenly. Levi, who cut an intimidating figure as he stood; tall and muscular and looking every bit the merciless Varia officer that he was.

"So you made it, huh? I take it that the others are here as well?"

I forced myself not to tense at the hand that genially clapped my shoulder from behind.

"Sawada Iemitsu," I greeted courteously, ignoring the way Hayato gaped at me as the CEDEF leader grinned. Tsuna looked thunderstruck by his father's sudden arrival. "They're here, but watching from somewhere else. I just figured I should drop by before you decided that we really needed a… checkup."

"I see." His eyes flickered not-so-subtly towards another rooftop, where three humanoid shadows were faintly silhouetted against the dark cover of the rain.

Basil gave me a small wave from behind him, and I mirrored the movement.

"So, this is your chosen Lightning Guardian?" I dragged their attention back towards the battle that had barely just begun, inwardly wincing as I watched Lambo's tiny body hurtle across the field from another one of Levi's kicks. "I hope you'll forgive me for saying so, but is it really… wise, to have someone so young be partaking in…?"

I trailed off as Lambo abruptly burst into tears and started wailing about what a 'lousy meanie' Levi was.

"Well–"

Smoke.

The Ten Year Bazooka.

_Good call, Lambo. Any longer and…_

"Ugh…" A familiar voice sounded from the pink smoke as it slowly dissipated. "Geez, I thought I asked you guys to keep a watch on my younger self so he _wouldn't _summon me again. And if you really had to, couldn't you have chosen some other time to do this? This is the first chance I've gotten to sit down and eat a proper meal in _months; _I-pin even made dumplings for dinner today… Talk about the terrible sense of timing, really…"

Teenager Lambo.

There was still a pair of chopsticks clenched in his hands, presumably from his interrupted meal, still holding a dumpling on the end. He gave it a sorrowful look, as if lamenting the fact that it was the only one left now –because child-Lambo would no doubt devour whatever was in his bowl in the brief time before the five minutes were over– before stuffing the dumpling into his mouth and gulping it down like a starving wolf. There was a haggard look that clung to his body, one that spoke of sleepless nights and restless dreams of blood.

(I would know. How many times had that same look been reflected on my own body before I learned to hide it?)

"Eh? What's this?" the teen-Lambo blinked lazily, as if finally realizing that he was the center of attention as everyone _stared _at him. Then his eyes sharpened and began actively scanning his surroundings, rapidly cataloguing and analyzing everything he saw.

To the side, Squalo was arguing with one of the Cervello women about how this was against the rules, and the rest of the Varia were in similar states of shock at the sudden stranger who had replaced the tiny child.

"… Oh. Don't tell me…" Lambo groaned in a long-suffering tone, "I take it that this is the Lightning Ring battle? Let me guess, my younger self couldn't handle it and fired the bazooka? Man, what a drag…"

"S-Sorry, Lambo! I, um, I know you said to try and not use the bazooka anymore, but–"

Lambo waved a hand dismissively at Tsuna's apologies, glancing over in our direction.

"Eh, don't worry 'bout it, Tsuna. What's done is done, and I–"

He froze.

"… Lambo?"

This time, Tsuna's voice was ignored as he locked eyes with me, and something in my heart _jolted _when I saw the expression that surfaced there–

"_You," _he hissed, so suddenly and venomously that I automatically took a half-step backwards before even realizing that I'd moved. "How dare you?! You traitor –_this is all your fault!"_

... What?

A stunned silence rang loudly in my ears, and I found myself paralyzed.

Traitor?

_Me?_

Lambo glared viciously, completely ignoring Levi as he growled and took another step forward, and I stepped back again. Too startled to react properly, too caught off-guard with this sudden turn of events that _didn't make any sense–_

"You." He growled lowly, "We _trusted _you, and you just go and _betray_ us to him? You _bitch. _I hate you. I fucking _hate _you, and I hope you die and rot in–"

Numb.

Something buzzing in my mind.

(What?)

What just happened?

Levi attacking Lambo again, the fight resuming right in front of my eyes, but I couldn't focus on them anymore. His words… I couldn't get them out of my mind; the vehemence behind them was so poignant and strong and… and…

_What the hell just happened?_

Me? _Traitor?_ Never, never, _never! _What in the world was he talking about? I would _never _turn my back on them; I would _never _sell out the Family! My _family!_ This… this was crazy! Impossible! Preposterous! What he was saying was something that would never, ever happen!

_Never._

Never, never, _never _would I _ever_ betray them.

… So why?

_His hatred. His hatred and disgust for me were real. Why?_

I was barely aware of the battle carrying on, barely aware of another flash of pink smoke, the emergence of another Lambo with a decade more of experience than his latest counterpart, a Lambo who only took a quick, cursory look at his surroundings before slamming down a sea of Lightning flames on Levi and watch him crumple, before turning and catching sight of us and marching forward in a blur and–

I blinked.

… What?

"_Tsubaki."_ Leather. Leather jacket. There was the faint scent of tobacco clinging to his clothes. And he was… surprisingly warm. Wait. Why was he hugging me? Didn't he hate me? No, no, two decades later, not one decade. But what in the world happened just now, if…? "It's been so _long, _we miss you so much… listen to me. Stop trying to shoulder everything by yourself. We're family for a reason, Tsubaki, so… remember that you can always rely on us, okay?"

Earnest eyes, staring into my own, trying to emphasize the importance of what he was saying, because all he could offer me were vague words of guidance. Guilt and sadness and a touch of hope. There was a jagged scar over his right eye, and for some reason that was the only thing I could focus on when I gazed upon that tired, weathered face, raising a hand and gently running my finger over the thin silver line.

He didn't stop me.

(If anything, it seemed as if he almost… expected it.)

"… Be careful, Lambo," I murmured lowly, dazedly, still trying to wrap my mind around the sudden happenings–

The scarred man laughed, the sound oddly bitter in his throat. "That's what I'm trying to tell _you, _dear sister_. _Just… just give us a little more credit, alright? Have faith in us."

I sucked in a shaky breath, not quite trusting myself to nod just yet –or give any sign of confirmation, really.

Composure. Composure, composure, composure. It's too soon to let down the mask right now. What would they think? What would they say? How would they react? How was _I _supposed to react?

"Tsuna." 20-years-later Lambo still had his arms wrapped around my body when he finally tore his gaze away from me, away from memorizing the contours of my face as if he was afraid of forgetting them already, looking out towards the rest of them. Something reminiscent of pain and desperation as he spoke again– "Hayato, Takeshi, Ryohei… it feels so nostalgic, seeing all your faces like this again. Don't repeat our mistakes, okay? Don't–"

His voice cut off abruptly in a burst of garish pink smoke.

And then I was holding a hyperactive child in a cow suit in my arms, convoluted mind racing a mile a minute and only half-aware of what was going on around me, because I wasn't quite sure what to think anymore.

* * *

"_Lambo!"_

_The young teen cursed, landing on the ground and falling over backwards almost immediately._

"_I'm fine, I'm fine." He twitched, waving a hand to show he was still alright. "It was just the bazooka again. Man, I really wish I hadn't fired that thing so often when I was young…"_

_I-pin giggled._

"_Well, I managed to save some dumplings for you, if you're still interested…"_

"_Yeah, that would be great." He flashed her a thumbs-up and a grateful grin, though the cheery expression quickly faded. "… Hey, guess who I saw this time, I-pin."_

_The girl stilled, sensing the sudden change in his tone, and cast a quizzical glance over her shoulder at the young Bovino._

"_Who?"_

"_Tsubaki."_

_A dark look flitted over her face at the name, and the entire room cooled several degrees in temperature alone._

"… _Did you kill her?"_

"_What?! Of course not! There's rules to this bazooka thing, and one of them is to never–"_

"_You should've killed her, Lambo."_

_The young teen let out a frustrated noise in the back of his throat. "You think I didn't want to, I-pin? All these years together, and she was like a sister to us –then she goes ahead and joins _him, _and she… she… _fuck_, we really should've listened to what Hayato said about assassins so long ago. Actors, the whole lot of them. Always looking for the best time to stab you in the back. In the end, she tricked all of us, didn't she? Even Hayato? Even Mukuro? Even Kyoya?"_

_The girl closed her eyes, slumping into her seat at the table again as he ranted._

"… _I'm glad I'm not an assassin, Lambo." Her voice was oddly small this time, and Lambo blinked in surprise._

"_Eh?"_

"_I don't want to be like her." I-pin stared steadily at her hands, "These bonds I have with everyone in the Family, I… I don't ever want to throw them away. I don't even want to be _capable_ of just throwing them away like that. I don't… I just… How can she do this to everyone?"_

_(How can she do this to us?)_

…

_Why?_

* * *

**.**

_..._

_._

* * *

**EDIT 8/08: **Switched all 'Thunder Ring' and 'Thunder Guardian' labels to 'Lightning,' for the sake of consistency. (When we referred to the manga, it was translated as 'Thunder...') Let us know if there are still any 'Thunder' terms wandering around, please.

-XxZuiliu, XxZuiyun

* * *

Author's Notes:

Hi guys.

So, we skipped over Ryohei's ring battle entirely… blargh, it's only the beginning of this arc and I can't wait for it to be over already. I really want to start writing the Future arc stuff instead of plowing through the Varia arc. = = Haha, guess that was pretty obvious in this chapter, huh?

Outcomes are reversed from what they are in the manga. Ryohei loses the battle with Lussuria, and Lambo wins his battle with Levi. Ryohei loses because Kyoko never comes around to watch him 'sumo wrestle' this time, and thus he never gets motivated by his sister's presence and get his strength to 100% instead of 90%. Lambo wins because we made his future selves more badass, which will be explained/explored in more detail later.

And yeah, we also have a flashback with Lambo that shows him with a mature persona. Big contrast from the Crybaby Lambo we all know and love, right? I wonder what could've happened to make him turn out that way…(Cough)(Cough) Also, any thoughts on both future Lambo's reactions? Spoilers for the Future arc are in this chapter~

This time, what we have at the end isn't a canon character POV but instead a 'future scene.' Kinda OOC, but considering the background I've got planned for that, I think it works out. And if it doesn't, well, you can mention that when we get into the Future arc.

**QUESTION(1): **How many times do you think Tsubaki has 'looped' in the KHR-verse? Are there any particular 'loops' that you're interested in being expanded upon, based on the snippets of previous lives that have been revealed in the story so far?

**QUESTION(2):** Okay. Character POVs at the end or future snippets?

Hopefully next update won't take too long. Leave us a note on how you think we're doing, yeah? :3

Zuiyun out.


	11. 01: 11 Fail to Hide

"_There's something you aren't telling us, right?"_

_Guilt._

_My body flinched involuntarily at the accusation, and I immediately ducked my face in shame. The accusing light in their eyes –I couldn't take it, I couldn't bear to see it reflected there. Not just accusation, but also a hint of suspicion. Barely present, but nonetheless _there. _And part of me knew I was just being a coward for not telling them and keeping it all to myself, but another part of me insisted that I made the right decision, because the last time I came forth with everything was when–_

"… _Why?"_

_Hurt. Confusion. Frustration._

_I could practically _feel_ those emotions radiating from them, but… I can't. I _can't. _I won't let my mistake repeat again. I won't allow for the risk of letting it happen once more._

_Even if it comes at a steep cost, it's okay. It's okay. It's _okay.

_(… They don't have to know.)_

"_Aren't we family, Tsubaki?"_

_Yes._

"_Why won't you trust us?"_

_I trust you._

"_Why won't you tell us what's wrong?"_

_Nothing's wrong._

_(Not if I have any say about it.)_

… _Sorry._

* * *

Blue.

Blue, blue sky. Cool breeze. Drifting clouds.

Closing eyes, trying to relax and calm down, to center myself and latch onto reality again–

_("__You _bitch_. __I hate you. I fucking _hate _you, and I hope you die and rot in–")_

Blue sky. Soft wind. White clouds. And sunlight. Don't forget the sunlight.

Breathe.

_("Stop trying to shoulder everything by yourself. We're family for a reason, Tsubaki, so… remember that you can always rely on us, okay?")_

… Fuck.

_Fuck._

What the hell was that supposed to mean?!

I let out a frustrated sigh, tiredly opening my eyes again. The sight hadn't changed –and neither had the knot twisting itself in my chest ever since the Ring Battle last night.

Turmoil.

Not an unfamiliar sensation, but an unwelcome one nonetheless. Self-doubts and wanderings of the mind on the possible implications of the warnings Lambo had dropped about the future with his visit.

Traitor?

Thinking rationally now, it may have very well been just a plan. A plan to associate myself with the Millefiore to gain intel on them that would've been impossible to learn otherwise. It would make sense that a mission like that would be carried out in absolute secrecy –but the sheer _hatred _in his eyes; would that really account for those emotions? And another thing –Byakuran wouldn't be so easy to fool. That, I would know better than anyone else.

… No, it didn't make sense. _None _of this made sense. Or was it just my thoughts that weren't making sense right now? There was probably something that I was missing –some critical piece of information that was the point of this entire conjecture, something that I just wasn't touching upon, but as to _what _it was…

"A penny for your thoughts?"

Chrome's voice. But, it wasn't Chrome who was speaking.

"None of your business, Rokudo."

It wasn't hard to fake the tiredness in my voice. In fact, I was pretty sure that most of the tiredness was _real _this time around.

"Oh?" A soft rustle sounded to my left, and Chrome sat down beside me, eyepatch pulled down and dual-colored eyes gleaming. "Judging by the little show last night, it has something to do with Vongola. And as you'll recall, I _am _Tsunayoshi's Mist Guardian. That makes it my business by default, wouldn't you say?"

"It doesn't concern you." _Yet. _

But I let the last word remain unsaid.

Chrome arched an eyebrow in the manner that only Mukuro could pull off, "I beg to differ."

"Don't pry for responses to questions I can't answer, Rokudo." I kept my voice dry as I shook my head, trying to get my act back together before he–

"Can't or won't?"

… And _this_ was why conversations with Mukuro were always so tiring.

"Does it even matter?" I stood up from my seat on the rooftop, stretching. "I'm not going to say anything about it."

"Ah? But I distinctly recall hearing, what was it again… _'Have faith in us?'" _Chrome stood up as well, looking directly into my eyes and smiling. "Now why would he say that, I wonder? Out of all of us, _you_ were the only one who seemed to have an inkling of what he was referring to with his words. So tell me, what are you hiding from us, Tsubaki?"

I shook my head wryly.

"As if you haven't been able to deduce anything by yourself."

Chrome maintained the smile on her face and said nothing.

I exhaled.

"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies."

…

…

…

_It's not like… it's not like I _want_ to keep this all to myself. Really, it isn't. I don't want to keep any of you in the dark, either. Maybe it's just foolishness on my part, maybe it's just because hurts to keep this all locked away, maybe it's just a lonely part of me that wants you to _understand_…_

_But._

_Regardless of my own feelings._

_Regardless of what Lambo said._

…

_Those times when I came forth with everything, what it had resulted in… I won't risk it repeating itself once more._

…

_(… Forgive me, please? It's okay if you don't trust me, I'm prepared for it. I… I can live with it. Painful as it is, I can deal with it. I'm used to dealing with pain. I… I just don't want to see any of you die before my eyes again.)_

_Sorry._

…

_How many times have I said that word already? How many more times will I have to repeat it?_

_Sorry, sorry, sorry._

_I'll say it as many times as I need to, until the day finally comes when I'll never have to say it again._

…

_(When will that day come?)_

…

* * *

I didn't go to Hayato's battle.

True, it was unlikely that there would be a repeat of another incident similar to that of Lambo's time-traveling bazooka last night, but… I wasn't too keen on facing them again. What would they see when they looked at me? What would Reborn say?

I sighed, watching a small puff of my breath slowly fade into nothingness in the chilly night air.

… And to think I had hoped to change the way Hayato thought about me with this opportunity. If anything, this would only serve to increase his suspicions and paranoia towards me.

Nonetheless, even though I wasn't watching his battle right now, I still lingered on Namimori Middle's school grounds. There wasn't really any good explanation I could rationalize my actions with… after all, I'd missed Ryohei's match entirely. But there was something tingling at the edge of my senses tonight for some unfathomable reason, something that told me to stick around even though I didn't want to be seen by any of them.

So here I was, standing next to the water fountains. Close enough that I'd be able to make sense of what was going on in the building, but not so close that they'd realize I was here.

… Was I anxious? Maybe. The Varia was currently in possession of two rings while Tsuna and the others only had one. If Hayato won this battle, that would put them on even footing again. But conversely, if Hayato lost, then it meant that the Varia would only have to win one more match to claim "victory."

(A part of me still couldn't help but feel that anxiety wasn't all there was to the reason why I was here right now, though.)

Sounds of explosions came from the buildings as glass shattered. I could faintly make out the conversation between the distinct voices mixed in there, but as of the moment–

"_Leave."_

That uniform. Varia. And, judging by the insignia sewn onto the black cloth –the man was part of Levi's squad. His Lightning Unit. Handpicked subordinates chosen to serve directly under him.

"Why should I?" A small drawl in my voice. The man scowled.

"Captain Levi has left specific orders to not allow any intruders to step within this area," he responded in a terse, clipped tone.

(No kill-on-sight order? That was an improvement, I suppose.)

I rocked back on my heels, a mock-thoughtful look stretching itself over my face as the man glared at me threateningly.

"And if I refuse to leave?" I asked slowly, teasingly.

That seemed to be all the signal he needed.

He launched himself at me with formidable speed, lashing out with a dagger whose edge sparked with Lightning flames –I spun out of the way, letting the attack smash into the wall behind me. A loud snap of bone accompanied a kick from my foot, and the man stumbled back, cursing.

"You do realize that what you're doing is completely unnecessary, right?" I asked rhetorically as he readied himself and charged again, "It's not like I'm even planning on interfering with anything going on in there."

I felt a brief nudge of annoyance from his actions, because I _didn't come here to fight. _Eavesdrop, yes, and preferably unnoticed at that, too, but in light of this new development…

My left hand reached down to grip the sword at my side when the rest of the Lightning Unit came at this point, dropping down from the trees around us. It was easy to slip into the familiar rhythm of combat as I ducked under a punch and slammed the hilt of my sword into another man's windpipe; choking him, before slamming a roundhouse kick directly into his chest that sent him crashing into two others as he was bodily thrown backwards.

Their weight was enough to break the fountains –drizzles of water began flying everywhere, quickly being lit an eerie, fluorescent green by the Lightning flames they used. Which worked just as well for me, since the addition of unexpected electrocutions was just enough to throw off the balance of their teamwork for the moment.

I unsheathed my sword.

"Sorry."

And then I was slicing through wrist and ankle tendons not unlike how I'd done to Birds, felling them one by one in a sudden burst of speed –a speed that never lasted long, never longer than a single moment, but a single moment was all I needed.

(The Varia had access to excellent medical services. They'd recover, even if their pride wouldn't at being brought down by a young girl, professional assassin or not.)

… Now that the short exchange of blows was over, though… it was strange. The Lightning Unit consisted of some ten to twenty people, and only six were present here. Which begged the question of where the rest of them were if these were the only ones who–

I dodged to the side as another body flew –no, fell– down almost straight on top of me from out of nowhere; and then I had my answer.

"Trespassing on Namimori territory, loitering after school hours, damaging the school facilities… for these transgressions, _I will bite you to death."_

I threw myself to the side again as a dark blur slammed a silver tonfa against the spot where my head was a millisecond ago, and then I found myself looking at Kyoya again, who had a small smirk slowly spreading over his lips as a light of recognition crept into his eyes... tinged with the desire of battle.

Not good.

I raised my hands –both hands– in what was hopefully a placating gesture. Judging by the thoroughly unimpressed look he gave me for that, it wasn't very effective.

"Um, can we try talking this out first like reasonable people? Please? 'Cause I gotta admit, I'm not exactly too enthused about–"

I hurriedly bent over backwards to avoid getting a tonfa to the face.

It was never a pleasant sensation.

"Ky–" I swallowed the instinctive form of address in my throat as his eyes narrowed. Of all the times to make a blunder of the tongue… When was the last time I had nearly slipped up like this? "–Can you at least hear me out first before you skip directly to attacking me?"

Judging by the next blow that would've shattered my kneecap had I not moved out of the way, the answer to that was a very flat and vehement 'No.'

… Had I really been expecting another reaction to that query?

"Draw your blade."

It wasn't a request, it was more of a demand than anything else. There was anticipation in his eyes; the kind that came from the thrill of battle when you were testing yourself against a strong opponent.

It was also something I couldn't agree to.

My reply was equally short and to-the-point, "No."

Kyoya made a 'tch' sound of annoyance at that before darting forward again, to which I raised my sheathed tsurugi to block his metallic weapon as I braced myself to receive the blow–

And then I was _flying._

… Of course. Kyoya had gone on a _training trip _with Dino, of course it would make sense that he would've improved by leaps and bounds, of course it was silly of me to have tried blocking with only consideration to his strength the last time he'd ambushed me like this–

Belatedly, I twisted my body mid-air, angling myself to lessen the impact of my fall. And for a moment, the sound of shattering glass was all that my mind registered as I crashed through the window, other than the startled shouts that surrounded me.

… Startled shouts?

Oh.

_Oh._

(… Really, why was my mind so slow today?)

I reached out a hand and pushed off the ground just before I skidded against it, tucking my body into a small flip and landing in a half-crouch as I raised my eyes and plastered a smile onto my face, giving a jaunty wave to the other occupants in the narrow corridor I'd fallen into.

"Hi." I plucked out a shard of glass from my palm, "Sorry for interrupting, but it's not exactly like I had a choice about this–"

And then Kyoya was suddenly _there_, and this time I had no qualms about ducking under his next strike and catching his arm –I caught sight of his eyes widening, briefly, as I went on the offensive– before spinning on my heel, lowering my center of gravity, and _throwing._

"_Hiieee!"_ Tsuna's shrill scream accompanied the swift execution of my movement as I hurled Kyoya away from me. Away from the glass-riddled floor. If Kyoya could throw me through a window several floors above the ground now, then he'd definitely wouldn't be hurt from a maneuver as simple as this. "Sh-she threw _Hibari!"_

There was a tinge of incredulity and disbelief coloring Tsuna's tone. Which made sense, seeing as Kyoya had always been an indomitable pillar of strength in our eyes…

The aforementioned Disciplinary Head landed on his feet with catlike grace, his stormy gray eyes finally taking note of the others present in the room.

Kyoya made a sort of disgusted sound in the back of his throat as he stood up and straightened, brandishing his tonfas.

"Crowding and breaking into school to vandalize the premises… by reason of joint responsibility, everyone here will be _bitten to death."_

Tsuna paled.

"To be fair," I piped up, airily waving a hand at the general rubble and destruction surrounding us. "You yourself caused most of the damage outside with the Lightning Unit. At least the people here were able to limit most of the mess they made inside the buildings to a contained area, right? Besides, the Cervello are responsible for cleaning it all up since they're the ones in charge of organizing this."

And now, Tsuna had a strange look on his face –an expression that was torn between awe that I was talking to Kyoya like this, and... horror that I dared to talk to Kyoya like this. Takeshi's grin had dimmed somewhat from the last time I'd seen it, most likely more from a direct influence of the Ring Battle than our 'interruption.'

I very carefully avoided glancing in Reborn's direction.

"Oi, who's the other brat?" Squalo's abrasive voice sounded from the Varia's side of the room, "Not too bad. Is he another one of their Guardians?"

"… Cloud Guardian." Mamon's tone indicated that he didn't care about the topic very much, but Squalo gave a shark-like grin at the response.

"That means he's Gola Mosca's opponent, isn't he?" The silver-haired man's tone was flippant, "Well, not like he's going to get the chance to even fight him. These battles will be long over by this time tomorrow!"

So Hayato had lost, after all. After the Lightning Unit had attacked me, followed by Kyoya –I'd lost track of the battle I'd been eavesdropping on. And speaking of Kyoya…

The Disciplinary Head's expression had darkened at the swordsman's loud proclamation, his attention having been diverted from me by Squalo's words. If anything, he now looked ready to hurl himself at the Varia swordsman at this very moment, consequences be damned.

(He'd always been that type of person, I suppose.)

"Hey, hey," Takeshi laughed, moving in front of Kyoya to cut off the glare he'd fixed on the smirking Varia members. "Calm down, okay? I get that you're probably a little upset by this, but–"

The dark glare shifted to Takeshi in a heartbeat, a hint of annoyance barely reigned in along ts edge.

"You're in the way, herbivore."

And then the restraints broke.

Except.

The tonfa that would've broken Takeshi's jaw was smoothly sidestepped, and the baseball player easily caught the end of the weapon with his bare hands as he shifted his body to match the movement of the sudden attack.

Judging by the silence that had befallen the room at that, the small display of skill had been utterly unexpected. I could admit to being impressed.

"Please be patient a little while longer, Hibari." The cheerful smile on Takeshi's face never faltered, but there was a serious edge to his expression now, a sharp contrast against the jovial one he portrayed all the time. "That long-haired swordsman over there is my opponent."

"… I don't care who he is to you. If you get in my way, I'll bite you to death."

It was at this point that Reborn finally stepped in before things could escalate any further.

"Ciaossu, Hibari."

Kyoya's eyes flickered toward the pseudo-infant on the ground, "… The baby?"

"It's fine with me if you decide to let loose here, but…" Reborn cocked his head in an innocent manner that fooled no one. "… if you do, you might lose an even greater chance to enjoy yourself. Don't you look forward to challenging Rokudo Mukuro again? If you bear with it and participate in the Ring Battles for now, you may get a chance to fight him in the near future."

"Hn. Is that so…?"

There was a not-so-hidden look of relief from Tsuna as Kyoya finally lowered his tonfas and stepped away.

"I've changed my mind," he declared, turning. "Damages to the school must be repaired by tomorrow. And before my turn comes, don't you dare lose."

Takeshi nodded solemnly in promise to that, and someone laughed.

Squalo.

"Not fucking likely!" He bared his teeth in a bloodthirsty grin, "Nice move just now, katana-brat, but your chances of winning are still zero percent! All you have to do is sit tight and wait for me to put you out of your misery tomorrow when I slice you into pieces! You too, girl!"

I gave a small start at suddenly being included on his hit list.

"What? Why me?" I pointed a finger at myself, tilting my head quizzically. "I'm not even fighting in all this. Is there really any point in killing me?"

Squalo snorted.

"No one crosses the Varia and lives to tell the tale!"

And then they were gone, using the same window I'd destroyed on my way in as their means of an exit.

"… Cross the Varia?"

I buried my face in my hands in response, silently bemoaning my fate in a rare moment of self-pity. I deserved it.

"Well," a new voice sounded, "Tsubaki was part of the force that delayed the Varia in Italy while Basil acted as a decoy."

... Dino?

I looked up to see the blond Italian giving a cheerful wave to us, Romario at his side.

"Brilliant job she did at delaying them, then." Hayato's sarcastic grumble made a small jab in my chest, but I was able to shrug off the pain for the most part. Sad, how I was almost used to it now.

Dino's gaze sharpened.

"She held off Bel and Squalo by herself, without reinforcements, while she sent Basil on ahead without her. I'd say she did a brilliant job at delaying them."

… Why was Dino taking my side? It didn't make sense. Unless… unless, if–

"Iemitsu filled me in on a little bit of the situation here." His gaze flitted over to me not-so-discreetly, and I inwardly grimaced. That meant he knew what had happened yesterday in Lambo's match, and would most likely confront me about it later. It wasn't something I was looking forward to. Iemitsu and Reborn were more than enough for me to worry about already. "Anyways, I heard that Yamamoto is going to have his fight with Squalo tomorrow, right?"

Takeshi nodded, and Dino continued.

"I went to a school for mafia children with Squalo when we were young. He'd already built himself a bloody reputation as an unparalleled genius swordsman there, challenging anyone and everyone as he fought and defeated sorts of sword styles to increase his repertoire –no one was really surprised when he was scouted by the Varia when he graduated. What _did _surprise everyone was that he actually managed to kill Tyr, the Sword Emperor and the former leader of the Varia, in that death match."

Tsuna paled as he caught the implication of those words, and Dino nodded grimly at him before turning to the room at large.

"In other words, Squalo is the man who would've become the leader of the Varia if he hadn't given the position to Xanxus."

Silence. And then:

"Yamamoto, I just want to make this clear to you: Squalo is a dangerous man who has already vanquished many different sword styles. If you rely on a single style in your match, you will have no chance of winning. The only way to win is by transcending sword styles."

The hard light in his eyes showed that Dino spoke the truth, underscoring the gravity of his words.

"... Where are you going, Tsubaki?"

I froze upon hearing Reborn's words directed at me, which automatically casted me at the center of attention when I already had one foot out the broken window.

So close to escaping.

"Ah, Reborn," I smiled sheepishly, "I was hoping to get back soon. I don't want to leave my dear student by herself too long, and the boys can be terribly insensitive–"

Reborn smiled too, and it wasn't a nice smile. Or rather, it was a nice smile, but the meaning it carried was far from nice.

"Spar with Yamamoto tomorrow."

I stared.

I _stared_, ignoring Hayato's shouts and Tsuna's screams and the general mayhem that followed that pronouncement.

"… What?"

"Yamamoto has been training with his father all this time," Reborn didn't even bat an eye at my reaction as I tried to compose myself again. "It would do him good to fight against another sword style. Besides, you've fought against Squalo. It'll be a good experience for him. Tsuna and I will come and watch."

So _that _was his goal.

I tried protesting, "But it's not like I even–"

"I think that's a great idea, Tsubaki." Dino's hand landed on my shoulder, clamping down and forcing me to abandon the idea of screwing all consequences and just jumping out the window.

"Trust me, it's not." I muttered, eyes flickering to the ground as my shoulders sagged from the lost cause.

"Well, I guess it's decided." Takeshi strolled up to me with a bright grin and extended his hand towards me in a friendly manner. "Thanks for agreeing to help me with my training tomorrow!"

I glanced down at his hand, then up towards his smile.

"… Are you _mad?" _My voice was hoarse, strained– "I'm an assassin!"

"But you're also a friend," he said firmly, before a cold light flickered briefly through his eyes. Quicksand, almost. "Aren't you?"

I stared.

Then I shook my head and laughed.

... Really, why did I even bother anymore?

* * *

_A small, secluded clearing. Private property, owned by the Vongola. White lilies were scattered everywhere; the grass filled with men and women wearing black as a sign of mourning. The sound of quiet sobs filled the air, muted mutterings that were nothing if not despondent and crushed._

_And, even though he knew this was an act, there was something about this entire funeral that struck a chord in him. He didn't like it._

_"… _What are you doing here?"__

_The raven-haired girl standing next to him behind the trees gave a small, sad smile as she tilted her face towards him._

"_Why shouldn't I be here?"_

_He leveled a flat look on her._

"_Because you're not supposed to be here. If anyone finds you missing–"_

"_Gamma thinks I'm out doing something for Byakuran again. And as far as Byakuran is concerned, I'm out doing something for Shouichi. I won't stay for long, I promise… you worry too much, Kyoya."_

_He looked to the side, scoffing, before his eyes slid back to her._

_She looked so… _

_His lips twisted a little in distaste before he smoothed out his expression again._

_Vulnerable. Fragile. A single touch, and she would break. She'd already been driven to her limit, and if anything else should arise, she probably wouldn't… _

_(He wondered if she'd confided in Tsunayoshi, if the Vongola Decimo had known how much he would hurt her by asking her to do this for him. He probably hadn't known –if he'd known, there was no way he would even think of asking something like this of her. And if he did know, well, that was only a sign of how dire this entire situation was becoming, that he'd be forced to drive her to this point. He would bite the omnivore to death after this was all over.)_

_Sawada Tsunayoshi._

_The late Vongola Decimo whose funeral was being held here today._

"… _You're crying."_

"_Ah?" She seemed truly startled. Had she really not noticed herself displaying such a herbivorous tendency? Maybe it was a good thing that she wasn't in the Millefiore's base today, then; surely someone would notice something off about her behavior. "… So I am. Sorry, Kyoya. I… I just… You should probably go back before the others start looking for you. I'll be fine."_

"_Hn."_

_She smiled through her tears, with a sort of tragic beauty that few could appreciate._

"_Kyoya…" A pensive look suddenly crossed her face, "Is this… is this really worth it? What if this doesn't work? What if… what if something goes wrong?"_

_(Again?)_

_He remained silent for a moment._

"_You of all people should know better than to give in to your doubts, Tsubaki." He finally settled on saying, watching with calm gray eyes as she flinched violently, before pressing on. _"_You've been here for every step of the plan. Have a little more faith in yourself. If not in yourself, then in us. The plan will work."_

_She blinked in surprise at his steady words. _

_Then she gave a small, shaky laugh, reaching up a hand to rub away her tears._

"_Okay then, Kyoya."_

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Hi all.

Moving on in the Ring Battles~ I actually kind of second XxZuiyun's sentiment, I can't wait to get into the Future arc too, haha. xD But it's important that we get through the Varia arc first, so on we go with this…

Yes, I'm evil for making Mukuro confront Tsubaki first instead of Reborn or Iemitsu. Reasons being: Reborn is preoccupied with training Tsuna. Training Tsuna for his battle against Xanxus would take priority over anything else at the moment; it's unlikely that Tsubaki will escape and he can always interrogate her at a later date (aka: when she shows up to another ring battle, or during Yamamoto's training...). For Iemitsu, the aftermath of Lambo's battle is where he realizes that the Varia did something to the Ninth, and he headed back to Italy to investigate. He'd be long gone at this point; besides, determining the current status of the Ninth will take priority over clearing any suspicions towards Tsubaki.

Mukuro isn't too concerned about forcing answers out of Tsubaki for the moment since he's not all that attached to Vongola yet. And we all know how Mukuro likes to "play" with things. ;3 Reborn will probably be in the next chapter thanks to the little arrangement he made with Tsubaki and Yamamoto.

Last part of this chapter is a future snippet at Tsuna's funeral with Hibari. Thoughts, anyone?

… That aside, the "sequel" to _Polaris _is up! For those interested, please head over to my profile and check out _Canopus. _It's an alternate-ending-continuation-of-sorts to _Polaris. _:3

**QUESTION: **Would you rather see future snippets or character POVs at the end of chapters? (Repeated question.)

-XxZuiliu


	12. 01: 12 The Rain Falls Quietly

"Hey there, Tsubaki."

I flicked open an eye at the familiar voice. And almost immediately upon seeing who it was standing there, I half-wished that I hadn't opened my eyes at all.

… As if that would change anything.

"C'mon, get up," the blond Italian smiled with borderline obnoxious cheer, his shadow falling across my body as he took a step closer. "Aren't you going to head over to Yamamoto's place for some training today?"

I gave him a dry look as I sat up from where I'd been lying on the rooftop. "Aren't you supposed to be overseeing your own student's training or something?"

At least Dino had the decency to look sheepish at that comment.

"Ah, um, we've been away from Namimori for a bit... And since Kyoya needs some time to take care of his Disciplinary Committee stuff now that he's back, I figure I've got a while to spare before he comes and hunts me down for another round of sparring."

I sighed as I clambered to my feet and stretched.

"Well… Hibari is a lot stronger than before, I'll give you that." I smoothed my jacket, "Ever thought about working on that temperament of his, too?"

"What makes you think I haven't tried?"

Good point.

"You've had several days to train him in," I brushed a strand of stray hair away from my face, keeping up the conversation before it could dwindle into silence. "All that time spent under your tutelage, and the first thing he does when he sees me is attack me?"

"All that time only consisted of three things: eat, sleep, and fight." Dino fell into step beside me as I jumped down from the rooftop and landed lightly on the street. I caught sight of Romario following a little ways behind us. "… Though, I daresay some interesting things happened in Namimori while we were gone."

And so the interrogation begins.

"Hm, you could say that." My tone was carefully nonchalant as we turned the corner and stopped, waiting for the street lights to change before crossing. "I've been pretty busy with my own student, y'know? And there's never a dull moment here, particularly not with these Ring Battles going on."

"So, is there anything you care to tell me about the match for the Lightning Ring?"

We began walking forward again.

"It depends," I replied lightly. "Is there anything in particular that you'd like to ask?"

This time, it was his turn to give me a dry look that I pointedly ignored.

"… Let's stop dancing around the topic, Tsubaki. What in the world went on with the ten and twenty year later versions of Lambo? Iemitsu only gave me a brief overview of what happened. Don't you think you have a little elaborating to do?"

I remained silent.

Dino shrugged.

"Fine, I'll start with what I know so far." I resisted the urge to shy away. "From my understanding, the ten-years-later Lambo said you betrayed us and honestly looked like he wanted to murder you on the spot. Twenty-years-later Lambo, on the other hand, acted almost the exact opposite to that. Iemitsu said…"

I glanced over when he trailed off, purposely not adding on anything else. His eyes –they were surprisingly piercing when I looked up at him.

"Iemitsu said your guard dropped completely when Lambo denounced you as a traitor," he finally divulged in a flat voice, an assessing light in his eyes as he gazed at me. I was careful to keep my body language smooth and relaxed, almost speaking of borderline indifference, but how much of it would he see through anyways despite my efforts? "He also said that you displayed some form of familiarity with the twenty-years-later version of Lambo after he appeared and hugged you."

A single beat of silence.

"Is there anything you want to say to that?"

"… What is there to say?" The reluctant note in my voice wasn't entirely false, not this time. "What do you want me to say? I'm not Vongola's enemy."

"Ten-years-later Lambo would probably beg to differ with that statement. And no one is _making _you say anything, Tsubaki –gods, you don't have to make this so difficult." Dino remarked as he ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "Just… give us an explanation for this, yeah? You're driving all of us crazy by holding your silence."

I breathed, long and slow.

_Remember. You're an assassin. They don't know you._

_(For now.)_

"I… I won't pretend to know all of what's going on." Which I didn't, technically, even though I had an inkling of things. "It could be that I allied myself to Vongola in the future and this 'betrayal' was planned –which would explain why the ten-years-later Lambo reacted so badly to my presence here, and why twenty-years later Lambo didn't. It could also be that I really am a double-agent trying to ingratiate myself to the Vongola and gain your trust, and betrayed you all ten years in the future. It could be anything, really… what makes you think you can believe what I say so simply like this?"

Give an impartial assessment. One that acted in my favor, and one that didn't. It would help smooth things over –if I focused entirely on trying to convince them that I _wasn't _an enemy, it would only make them more suspicious that I was.

"… Logically speaking, I shouldn't believe anything you say. Intuitively, though?" Dino cracked a small grin at me. "I don't think you're a bad person, Tsubaki. And I'm sure Basil would say the same."

…

I blinked rapidly, trying not to let him see how much those words _meant _to me, even if it was unintentional on his behalf.

_It's a start_.

"… I'm not Vongola's enemy," I muttered again, half-dazed as I continued walking. One foot in front of the other. Repeat.

Dino patted me on the back.

"That's good to hear… Ahh, would you look at that? Time flies by pretty quickly; looks like we're here. Yamamoto should be inside already –I'll get going now. Don't want Kyoya to show up later here and end up destroying everything, ne?"

* * *

"_Interesting sword style you have there, Tsubaki."_

_I smiled, sheathing my blade and bowing respectfully to the man in front of me._

"_Thank you." One, two, three. Three counts, and I straightened up again. "I'm afraid I'm not very proficient with it yet, though."_

_Yamamoto Tsuyoshi gave me a considering look._

"… _What is it called?"_

_I gave a noncommittal shrug, though inwardly I was frowning. Yamamoto Tsuyoshi was a practitioner of the lauded Shigure Souen Ryu, surely he would've seen a wide variety of styles before, even if he was no Superbi Squalo who went around challenging every sword style he heard of…_

"_In that case, who was the one that taught it to you?"_

_A flicker of feelings. Disappearing just as quickly as they'd come. _

_I… I blinked; somehow disoriented by that question for a strange, dizzying moment. And before I quite realized it myself, my lips had parted and an answer, unbidden and unknown, spilled from my tongue._

"_Someone very important to me."_

* * *

I stopped for a moment. Breathed.

_Inhale, exhale._

Then I reached out and opened the doors.

How long had it been since I last stepped in a dojo like this? It felt nostalgic, almost –I still had a distinct memory of calloused hands guiding me through unfamiliar forms and stances; a clear recollection of my sword trembling under heavy blows in those training sessions, even though it was now hard for me to put a name and face to everything.

(It was _there_, yes, but somehow floating out of reach, despite it being something I should be conscious of–)

"Ah, you're here!"

Takeshi. I pulled my distracted thoughts together and gave a short, polite bow, one that he returned.

"Hello," I greeted as I straightened again, smiling. "Shall we begin the spar?"

_Smile, smile. _

_It'll be okay. Everything will work out in the end. You'll see._

…

* * *

_There was something about the girl that he couldn't quite put his finger on, and he didn't like it._

"_Y-Yamamoto!"_

_There was a thread of concern in Tsuna's voice as he shouted out the name of his Rain Guardian, and Reborn watched dispassionately from his perch on top of the brunet's head as the young swordsman-in-training crashed to the ground._

_He marked down another mental note to the list of inconsistencies he was seeing._

_The attack just now –less force than she'd used last night to throw Hibari away from her (and subsequently, the broken glass littering the ground at her feet). Also, the bamboo shinai in her hand could've easily followed through and drawn a fine line across Yamamoto's throat, but she _didn't_ follow through with the movement. And neither did she make any attempt to take advantage of the momentary weakness that Yamamoto was currently exhibiting, instead waiting for him to stand to his feet again._

… _There was something about Tsubaki that Reborn couldn't quite put his finger on, and he didn't like it._

_But._

_Reborn was not heralded as the greatest hitman in the world for nothing; he was slowly beginning to create a picture in his mind from these scattered clues she was leaving around._

_(Her mask was nowhere near as perfect as she believed it to be.) _

_Yes, her control over her reactions were impressive –even now, the smile on her face seemed oh-so-very _natural, _her body language speaking of the usual boredom-leaning-on-slight-interest that any skilled sword-user might have at assessing Yamamoto's abilities…_

_But Reborn had seen her without her mask, the night that Lambo used his time-traveling Bazooka. He knew better than to take the emotions she exhibited at face value now._

_What he was seeing from the girl was a finely crafted masterpiece that anyone might've believed, would've believed. But. But he remembered the raw _emotion _he'd seen in those otherwise blank eyes that night –twisted with shock and hurt and disbelief, poignant and potent and–_

_In comparison, the emotions she showed on a constant basis always seemed a bit… lacking. Empty._

_(Not _right._)_

"_Don't worry, Tsuna, I'm fine." Yamamoto gave his student a reassuring grin before squaring his shoulders and facing the assassin again. "Hey, you're really good with a sword!"_

_The raven-haired girl gave a noncommittal shrug, and Reborn saw it again. _

_A boneless grace crafted from lethality that all assassins had, but the one she possessed wasn't quite _real. _This deceptive grace that she was showing now was nothing like the one she'd stepped back with when ten-years-later Lambo had made his entrance. That one, though tinged with shock, had felt more the smooth grace of a flowing river than the one she exhibited now, a fluidity from pooling blood._

_And there. There. Another strike that would've (should've) torn through Yamamoto's defenses –but somehow slowed down just enough before contact that the boy would be able to block and counter._

…

_Ten-years-later Lambo called her a traitor. _

_Reborn had no trouble believing this –and had he not seen Tsubaki without that mask of hers, he might've continued cataloguing her behaviors and mannerisms for what it seemed to be with a single glance. She was a brilliant actress. _

_And this sword of hers –while he himself was no swordsman, he'd seen his fair share of sword styles over the years. The one she used now was one that he was unfamiliar with. So… it wouldn't be a far stretch to believe that her cover as a 'Stray' was entirely false; that she was, in fact, allied to a third party, a Famiglia or an organization that trained her from birth –one that had given her explicit orders to infiltrate the Vongola._

_That night, Reborn had been more than ready to raise Leon and shoot her (better to be mistaken and dead than alive and a _threat_), and then twenty-years-later Lambo had appeared._

_He knew that haunted look in the Bovino's eyes when the young man reached out and hugged the assassin he called a sister. How many times had he seen it before?_

_(The haunted eyes after the death of a loved one.)_

… _It was also entirely possible that she hadn't actually betrayed them. Reborn freely admitted that fact. That would account for the disbelief and denial all but radiating from her countenance in face of ten-years-later Lambo's fury, the way that her mask had dropped completely (what sensible assassin would do that, really?). _

_But there was another thing that he couldn't ignore –the hate that ten-years-later Lambo had displayed was _real.

_Who to believe? What to trust?_

…

_Reborn knew that Tsubaki could be a great asset to Tsuna and his Guardians one day, just as she had the very real potential to turn on them all in the future._

_Iemitsu had begun his own assessment of the girl when he'd first contracted her in Italy, then contracted her again upon returning to Japan. Her performance there had been brilliant –she'd displayed high combat abilities, good enough to fight two Varia captains and not die. She hadn't abandoned Basil as soon as Bel had confronted them, either. And there was also the fact that she made no signs of wanting to seize the Vongola Rings for herself throughout the entire ordeal._

… _But was this all an act, carefully planned out to ingratiate herself to them? Or was this real?_

_(Good grief, why couldn't she make any _sense?_)_

…

_Ah. She was doing it again._

_Reborn remained silent as the girl –purposely, but only to a keen eye, and only if one was looking for any and all possible slip-ups in a mask in the first place– slowed infinitesimally as she lunged forward and struck out at Yamamoto. The angle that she'd attacked from was perfect for Yamamoto to launch his own counterattack, swinging the shinai in his right hand, and-_

_-dropping it._

_And then it just so happened that she was _just _slow enough to be caught by the move that Yamamoto executed when he ducked under her swing and caught the shinai with his left hand, resting the bamboo sword on her neck._

"… _Haha, I concede, Yamamoto," Reborn kept a careful eye on her as she laughed, dropping her own shinai and raising both hands in a sign of surrender._

_(Her smile was just a touch too bright to be real, an expression that –now that he paused to draw parallels between them– wouldn't look out of place on Yamamoto's own face. Hm.)_

_Yamamoto slowly drew back his shinai. Then, haltingly:_

"_You… you did that on purpose, didn't you?"_

_Reborn tugged his fedora lower, feeling distinctly satisfied at the boy's instincts. There was a reason why he called him a natural-born hitman, after all. Even if Yamamoto wasn't yet capable of catching all the signs showing that there was something wrong, his keen intuition still allowed him to pick up on certain things, for all that his current inability wouldn't allow him to verbalize it as anything other than 'It felt wrong.'_

"_What makes you say that?" Tsubaki cocked her head, the cracked mask sliding firmly in place as she smiled disarmingly, teasingly. Fake, fake, _fake_. "Why in the world would I lose to you on purpose? Why sully my honor as a swordsman like that? What's in it for me to deliberately throw the match?"_

_Reborn smirked, then spoke._

"_If Yamamoto had continued sparring with you, he would've risked not being at 100% for tonight's battle. And by allowing him to win against you –a professional assassin who's fought Squalo before and walked away alive– it would help bolster his confidence and go a long way in settling his nerves. As for a swordsman's honor –you know as well as I do that assassins have no honor." _

_Ah, was that agitation he glimpsed there just now real? A little, maybe, but not completely. He smoothly ignored it and pressed on. _

"_As for the last question, though… why don't you answer that for us, Tsubaki? What's in all this for _you?_"_

* * *

Nightfall. Clouds hiding the stars in the sky, chilly drafts making me wish that I'd brought a thicker jacket with me. This one was a little on the thin side, and just wasn't cutting it anymore.

"Oi, where did you go today?"

"Out."

Ken gave a small growl at the short answer he received as I waved a hand dismissively at him and grinned wryly.

"Don't tell me you were actually _worried _for me while I was gone from Kokuyo Land, Joshima? … I'm here now, aren't I?"

If looks could kill, I probably would've been struck dead on the spot.

"As _if." _He scoffed, sneering._ "_Don't think too highly of yourself, woman._"_

Idly, I swung my legs in the open night air, nodding with a placating smile fixed firmly to my face as my eyes wandered back to the large screen broadcasting the battle a few buildings over.

Yamamoto's fight with Squalo was going on right now. This time, I was seated with the rest of the Kokuyo group, feeling rather disinclined to be seeing Reborn again at the moment.

(Greatest hitman in the world, indeed.)

I turned around upon feeling a gentle tug on my sleeve.

"Is there something wrong, Chro–"

My voice died in my throat.

… How could it not?

The pale girl fidgeted a little. And yet, the small convenience-store-bought bento in her hands was still unmistakably held out towards me.

I blinked.

Then I whipped around to look at Ken –who was kicking at something on the roof, scowling– and Chikusa –who was single-mindedly focused on watching Yamamoto's battle, facing the opposite direction–

"Don't get the wrong idea here," Ken grunted irritably, "We just don't want to owe you anything."

My throat was still clogged.

"… You left for a really long time today," Chrome said quietly, her single blue eye flicking up towards me before looking down again. "We, um, weren't sure if you ate dinner yet, so…"

…

Ah.

Ah, _shit._

I wanted to cry.

But instead, I settled on smiling.

_Smile, smile._

"Thanks," I said simply. And if my voice was a little shakier than usual –it was getting harder and harder to keep up the act I'd trapped myself in– none of them said anything.

Chrome nodded shyly, staring fixedly at the ground as I carefully accepted the food from her.

…

"_The victory in the battle for the Vongola Ring of Rain goes to Yamamoto Takeshi."_

Utsushi Ame, Mirroring Rain. It was the first of Takeshi's own additions to the repertoire of techniques in the Shigure Souen sword style, the self-made technique that won him a victory from Squalo, the Varia's Sword Emperor.

I watched silently as he attempted to save Squalo when the Cervello released a shark into the fighting arena, watched silently as he was harshly rebuked –_"Don't taint my honor as a swordsman!"_– and roughly kicked aside as the animal was drawn in by the scent of blood, as its jaws opened wide and-

Ah.

My gaze flickered to the rest of the watching bystanders crowded together in front of the screen, and I nodded to myself.

Dino was already gone.

(It figured that he'd be ready for something like this beforehand, and would be prepared to act on a moment's notice.)

"Che, his sword isn't bad." Ken jammed his hands into his pockets as he turned around. "… Hey, if you and he were to fight, who would win?"

I arched an eyebrow at that unexpected question before replying, slowly.

"The Shigure Souen Ryu… is widely regarded as a fearsome style by all. It's said that the form is absolutely perfect, completely flawless, and thus undefeatable."

At this, Chikusa also looked over at me.

"… That's not what Ken asked," he said quietly, eyes sharpening.

I shrugged carelessly.

"Who knows?" Airy voice, small smile. "… And does it really matter which one of us would win? You should get your priorities in order. Who we should be focusing on right now is Chrome. After all, her battle is going to take place tomorrow –Chrome, how are you feeling?"

"_Kufufu."_

"… Please, forget I ever asked."

* * *

_It was raining._

_Droplets of icy water fell in veritable sheets from the dark skies, but Yamamoto wasn't concerned about it at the moment. After all, he could navigate the familiar terrain perfectly well even under this type of weather, and the same couldn't be said for the Millefiore men scattered throughout the ravine, waiting to ambush them._

_Any advantage would be welcome at this point._

_He clenched his jaw at remembering the reason _why _they were here, stuck in this situation –someone had leaked information about the Vongola's bases, and he had a damned good idea of who that 'someone' was._

_Someone who used to be a beloved friend, before becoming a hated traitor._

…

_None of them had seen it coming, when it happened. Not even Hayato, who still snapped and growled at her on a daily business (though granted; it'd been more out of habit than actual hostility –ever since that time she'd covered his body with her own when they–)._

"_Yamamoto, when should we move out?"_

"_Just a moment, Basil." He muttered quietly, eyes peering into the dense thicket rain in front of him. "… We'll wait a moment for the others to catch up before moving again. 'Sides, I think I see a few snipers stationed over there. I'll take care of them once we're ready to go."_

"_Alright."_

_The Millefiore had surrounded their base in the middle of the night and opened fire. It was a close thing –he'd barely managed to round up everyone (the ones who'd survived the initial onslaught, at least) and lead them out through one of the escape routes, getting rid of the Millefiore soldiers waiting for them there._

_Sometimes, he wondered if she saw it too._

_That whenever she looked at her sword, whenever she polished that tsurugi of hers, her mind would be drawn back to a whirlwind of blood and death._

…

_She had been the one who taught him how to take care of his blade after he'd set down the Shigure Kintoki, who sparred with him whenever he needed someone to keep his skills sharp._

_She had been the one who listened to him when he needed someone to talk to, when he needed someone to be the Rain for him and wash away those ghosts he carried in his mind._

_She had been the one who sat by him during his father's funeral, when the rest of the Family had been otherwise occupied by various aspects of the war they were waging against the Millefiore._

_The Millefiore that she had abandoned them for._

… _He hated her for it. Rather, he _wanted _to hate her for it. After all, she'd been the one who killed- who killed-_

…

_He could hate her for it. He _should _hate her for it. And in a sense, he did –burning resentment and righteous fury and pain of betrayal, mixed with bitterness–_

_But then he'd remember her voice, her smiles, and the way her hand had drifted over his blade with his own when she'd shown him how to work out the blemishes in the metal._

"_Basil, on my count. We're going to make a break for it soon."_

… _He would often try to summon up that sea of simmering rage and hurt and _hate _her for what she'd done to them, to _him_. But then he'd remember the way her back pressed into his own as they stood together, swords held high, and how they trusted each other to take care of their blind spots and weakness and–_

_And he hated the fact that he wouldn't hate Tsubaki, no matter what atrocities were added onto her hands with each passing day._

_Because._

_Because he had known the assassin-who-wasn't-really-an-assassin-at-heart, because he had known the woman who cared deeply for the Family she was part of, because he had known the woman whose hands he could place his life in whenever they stood together in battle._

_And Yamamoto hated._

_He hated how he wouldn't hate her; the woman who'd betrayed them all and doomed this world to an eternity of blood._

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Hey there everyone.

Yaaay, fast update. :) Done with the Rain battle now, so that's… 4/7 fights over with. Next up is the Mist battle, then Cloud, and last but not least, the Sky battle. Aiming to get this arc done in ~3 more chapters in that order, but we'll see how the plan goes for that.

Zuiliu repeated the question in the last chapter since we didn't get a lot of responses on that front. We'll probably end up doing a mixture of both future snippets and character POVs for awhile until we hit the Future arc, since the responses seem to be pretty even... Any thoughts on the switched up format we used here? Not too confusing, I hope? 'Previous loops' will always be centered/italicized, and future snippets/character POVs are in italics only, aligned to the left.

(… In retrospect, I kinda feel like practically the only dialogue we gave Reborn before this chapter consisted of "Ciaossu," for the most part. Blargh. = = Anyways, the whole training with Yamamoto thing was written from Reborn's POV. Thoughts, anyone?)

At the end, we've got a TYL!Yamamoto POV-thing. The language used there isn't too un-Yamamoto-ish, right?

**QUESTION: **Trying to decide between two future snippets. Mammon or Mukuro, guys?

Thanks to everyone who favorited/alerted and lots of kudos to the reviewers! :D

Zuiyun out.


	13. 01: 13 Clearing Mist

_You have 19 New Messages._

I flipped open my cell phone, watching the digitalized letters instantly flash and blink across the screen.

_Re: Finalized Transactions [2 New Messages]_

_Re: Job Requests [16 New Messages]_

Job requests from the Guild again. A soft sigh fell from my lips as I quickly scrolled through the messages, scanning over the details with a critical eye. As always, all of them were assassination requests. Really, after being part of the Guild for so long, I knew before I'd even looked that this would just be another list of general elimination missions, sent to every member of the division. Contract details with each client would vary from time to time, but the nature of our work never changed.

Birds had been my last 'Guild mission,' and I'd been almost immediately preoccupied by Iemitsu's private contracts after that…

…

… Well, I still had some time. There was still awhile before the date of the Guild-set deadline. And slipping out of Namimori to carry out assassination requests wouldn't be the smartest thing to do at this point, particularly not with the Ring Battles going on.

I paused at a new message that had just popped up in my inbox.

_Re: Your Trial [1 New Message]_

Arching an eyebrow at the unfamiliar subject, feeling a mild spark of curiosity–

_Hi! This message is from Gate, sent to inform you that your trial has officially ended…_

Oh.

Another random advertisement, then. How very… tasteless. I didn't recall leaving my phone number around anywhere, but I wasn't too surprised by a message like this –after all, it was hardly the first time that I'd received scam mail on my cell phone. Although, I had to wonder if the company knew what kind of cell number they'd gotten their hands on…

I deleted the message from my cell phone without a second thought, snapping it shut as I did so.

"We're here."

Glancing up at Chikusa's voice, I found myself looking at the familiar sight of Namimori Middle's gym.

_I remember heading in for gym class. There was that one time when they set up volleyball courts tournament-style –I think Takeshi ended up trying some sort of baseball throw with it, since I distinctly remember that I wound up spending the rest of that particular class in the infirmary with Shamal, nursing the mother of all migraines on the side of my head…_

"They should be already inside," I tucked away my phone in the pocket of the usual black jacket I wore. Underneath, however, I was dressed the same as they were –Kokuyo uniform and all. Ken had been the one to throw the outfit in my face this morning, red-faced and scowling, determinedly fixing his gaze up towards the ceiling. "Shall we, then? After you, Chrome."

I waited a heartbeat after the trio stepped inside the building, before entering myself.

"_K-K-Kokuyo?!"_

Tsuna.

"Aw, shouldn't we get a warmer welcome than that?" I teased lightly, watching as the brunet became even more flustered at that comment. Predictably, Hayato bristled –despite still being covered almost head to toe in bandages, he still brought out his dynamite sticks and took a threatening step forward–

"Hello."

Chrome's voice was as soft as always when she spoke up, but there was an unmistakable undercurrent of steel to her soft tenor this time. One that had been conspicuously absent at the beginning of her training.

And almost immediately, Hayato leveled his sticks of dynamite on her.

"Oi, who the hell are you?!"

"… Dokuro Chrome."

"You should try being a bit nicer, Gokudera." I interjected, raising my voice and drawing attention to myself. "She's Tsuna's Mist Guardian, after all."

"_WHAT?"_

The stupefied look on his face was priceless –right before it became clouded by suspicion.

"You're lying, aren't you?" He accused, "That eyepatch she's wearing –she's another person being possessed by Rokudo Mukuro, isn't she?"

That was… true, to a certain extent, but not completely true. Therefore, it could be categorized as false.

I opened my mouth to refute his claim and–

"N-No," Tsuna frowned, a look of consternation briefly flitting over his face. "She's not… she's not being possessed, I don't think…"

He trailed off as Chrome stepped closer to him, and I bit back a smile.

"Thank you for defending me, Boss."

A brilliant flush lit up his face when she pressed a light kiss to his cheek, and Hayato looked ready to commit homicide. Luckily, Takeshi had the foresight to position himself close enough behind the temperamental Storm Guardian beforehand –as it was, he barely managed to restrain Hayato before he made to attack Chrome. Violently.

"How well has her training progressed?"

I looked down at Reborn, who'd addressed me directly with that question.

"… Well enough." I replied simply, averting my gaze to the field. "Why don't we wait and see?"

Hayato's eyes suddenly snapped to me.

"_You're _the one who trained her?"

I shrugged faux-carelessly, "In a manner of speaking, yes. Although… I admit, I only had a small hand in the development of her abilities as an illusionist."

A small tug on my sleeve.

I turned to look at Chrome.

"I'll be going now."

"Okay," I smiled, squeezing her hand briefly before letting go. "Good luck."

* * *

'_Remember this when you fight, Chrome.'_

_Spinning the trident in her hands, she sucked in a deep breath, calming herself. _

_One, two, three._

_Then she brought the weapon crashing down and let the floorboards shatter into a thousand pieces._

'_Mammon is strong. At your current level, even with Mukuro's guidance and my own training, it's unlikely that you'll be able to defeat him. I'm not belittling your skills; if anything, you're an extremely talented student. But keep in mind that you're still recovering from the accident that landed you in the hospital… and you lack combat experience.'_

_Strange tendrils reached out from under the pseudo-infant's hood and wrapped around her arms, legs, torso; restricting her movements–_

'_Mukuro will definitely come and help you if you become unable to handle things on your own, as a last resort.'_

–_and she watched quietly as her opponent continued strangling the cart full of basketballs._

'_He will step in the moment you are overwhelmed by your opponent. So, knowing this… what do you want to do? Will you simply rely on him and wait for him to help you? Or… would you like to listen to the little piece of advice I have to offer you? It's your choice, Chrome.'_

_She cleared her throat softly, drawing Mammon's attention._

"_I'm over here…"_

_The pseudo-infant instantly spun towards her direction, letting the basketballs drop onto the ground._

"_Oh? Seems like you have some skill, after all." Mammon regarded her for a long, unnerving moment. She carefully kept her expression blank and calm –just like those eerie moments when Tsubaki closed off entirely from any and all emotion displayed across her face. She hoped that he wouldn't pick up on her nervousness, her apprehension. "… I suppose that means I can use my true power, then."_

_And the chains tightly wrapped around his indigo pacifier fell._

_Something _ripped _through the skin of the frog sitting on his head –a snake?– writhing and spinning in a rapid circle, biting into its own tail to form the mimicry of a halo floating over him._

"_Let's go, Fantasma."_

_She barely noticed the cries of 'Arcobaleno!' from her onlookers, since her ears still ringing with Tsubaki's words._

'_Remember that Mammon is strong. He will look down on you, even once you show that you have some measure of skill in creating illusions. So… use it. Use his own arrogance against him.'_

_Chrome carefully constructed an image of her charging towards her opponent, swiping horizontally with the trident in her hands. Mammon dodged –and in the same moment in reality, a basketball flew over his head harmlessly._

_He didn't notice. He didn't _notice. _Did he really think her to be such an amateur? She felt almost… insulted._

_She'd worked her hardest to learn how to create illusions with Mukuro, after all._

_Silently, she ghosted over the floorboards of the gymnasium –in the scant period of time she'd been with them, Tsubaki had taught her stealth, had taught her how to move about unnoticed–_

"_Snakes?" There was a lazy drawl in Mammon's voice as he shifted in the air again, still looking in the direction of a single basketball. The material anchor she'd used to cast and lock an image of her likeness beforehand. "Interesting choice, woman."_

_She had maneuvered herself so that she was standing directly behind him now._

_So._

_She inhaled deeply, squaring her shoulders, and calmly held out the trident in front of her._

_Mammon's erratic dodging patterns from the snakes he saw in his mind ensured that he impaled himself directly onto her weapon._

_For a moment, a shocked silence split the air._

"_W-What…?"_

_Fire._

_Pillars of hungry flames burst forth from the ground, just as Mukuro had taught her to do, and they eagerly engulfed the tiny form of her opponent in a torrent of blistering fire…_

…

"_Hm. It seems that I underestimated you."_

_No._

_He wasn't there anymore._

_Chrome quickly jerked back her trident, just before her flames were encased in ice and–_

"_Not a bad strategy to employ. Your illusions are indeed first-class … if I had allowed myself to believe that your flames were real for even a single moment there when you called them forth, I would've been incinerated immediately. Not bad at all, woman."_

_When had he escaped? When had he been floating above her?_

… _She'd miscalculated._

_Chrome tightened her grip on the trident–_

"_Oh? Seems like that weapon of yours is extremely important to you. Shall I… take it away?"_

_She froze._

… _Literally, not figuratively._

_Ice crept up her legs, locking her in place as Mammon floated closer and closer, until he was hovering less than a foot in front of her._

"_You lose," he stated serenely, factually. His hand came up in an open-palm gesture. "You threw away any miniscule chance you ever had of winning against me in the first place the moment you accepted my_ _illusions as your reality."_

_He fisted his fingers, and her trident shattered; then–_

_PAIN._

_Blood flecking her lips, tremors wracking her body–_

_Darkness._

_Sweet, sweet darkness._

_A single whisper._

"_You have done well, my dear little Chrome. Rest. Rest now, and let me take over."_

_That whisper… it… it was… Mukuro's voice?_

…

_She smiled sweetly and surrendered herself to the darkness, knowing she had done all she could._

* * *

Mukuro.

Mukuro was here.

"_Kufufufu…"_

It was funny, watching their reactions. Hayato's face twisted into the _strangest _expression ever, and surprise was written all over Takeshi's eyes –and while Tsuna was the only one who had an inkling of Mukuro's arrival, even he looked stunned by the dual-eyed illusionist's appearance in Chrome's place.

"R-Rokudo Mukuro?!"

"Greetings, Vongola." He tossed a careless smile over his shoulder at us, mocking and tinged with an edge of amusement as he observed the range of expressions openly splayed across their faces. His eyes lingered on me for a moment before flickering back to Tsuna. "And so I have returned, once again…"

"_You lie."_

Mammon's appearance was much more haggard now, after having been thrown into the ground at Mukuro's entrance.

"Rokudo Mukuro –after attempting a second breakout from Vendicare, he was taken to the lowest depths of the prison to be guarded. You're only an _illusion; _the real Rokudo Mukuro is still being watched by the Vindice. Don't think you can fool me with the illusion of an illusionist!"

Mukuro raised an eyebrow, condescending and challenging all at once.

"I assure you," he drawled, "I _am _Rokudo Mukuro. Would you care to confirm that for yourself?"

Ice.

Ice twisted everywhere; howling winds and freezing snow. The impromptu blizzard stirred by the emotions of Mammon's cold rage instantly trapped Mukuro in a thick block of solid ice –and as he rushed forward, intent on shattering him to pieces–

Lotus flowers.

"Ahhh, Mukuro is so scary like this." I commented lightly, smiling. _I know how this battle will end. _"I'm very glad that I'm not the one standing across the field from him right now."

Ken rolled his eyes in my direction, "Tch. You wouldn't stand a chance against him!"

… Maybe.

Mammon definitely didn't stand a chance –and it was a vicious, one-sided fight ever since Mukuro shocked the Mist arcobaleno with the taste of physical pain, and dominated the pace of the battle after that.

Violently taking grasp of Mammon's perception of reality.

"_The victory in the battle for the Vongola Ring of Mist goes to Dokuro Chrome."_

…

* * *

_A ring._

_There was a ring on my finger. A Vongola Ring._

… _It didn't belong there._

_It didn't._

Couldn't.

… _And yet, there it was… mocking me with its very presence._

"_Tsubaki, is there something wrong?"_

_I automatically glanced up at the sound of his voice, smiling._

_Smile, smile._

"_I'm fine, Tsuna. Just… thinking, I guess." I slowly sat up, ignoring the throbbing pain in my side. Guess it wasn't healed as much as I thought it would be. "I'm sorry I wasn't of much use while you were fighting Xanxus last night."_

_He immediately shook his head, waving his hands._

"_N-No, it's fine!" Tsuna bit his lip, "If anything, it's my fault. You guys were all hit by the poison, and I couldn't _do _anything about it–"_

"_You're over-thinking things again," I laughed. A light, carefree sound. But the small frown still stayed on his lips, so I let my laughter fade –knowing that it hadn't been enough to fool him, once again… "Really, we're fine, Tsuna. We won, didn't we?"_

"_Well… yes, but–"_

"_But nothing." I said firmly._

_He blinked._

"_You did the best you could under those conditions." I reached out and gently took his hand, watching as his eyes softened. The smile on my lips felt a little more real this time. "You're our Boss, our Sky, but that doesn't mean you have to take all the burdens upon yourself. What else would we be here for?"_

_What else would _I_ be here for?_

…

* * *

"Is there something I can help you with, Dino?"

The blond Italian pacing along the corridor of the hospital instantly lit up at the sound of my voice, flashing me a brilliant smile –which automatically sent a series of warning bells ringing in the back of my mind. I immediately froze mid-step, eyeing him dubiously as he briskly headed towards me, and instead started subtly edging away. After all, this was the same _look_ he always had whenever he was struck with one of his 'light bulb ideas…'

And then he was suddenly _there, _standing directly in front of me, hands falling onto my shoulders with a vice-like grip and a smile widening across his lips.

… Not as subtle as I thought I'd been in edging away, then. Damn.

"Tsubaki, you pretty, beautiful, _charming_ young lady." I blanched, highly alarmed, and instinctively glanced to Romario for help... the useless man was hiding a smile behind that hand of his, wasn't he?

"O radiant flower of–"

"Is there really a point to any of this?" I asked warily, trying to back away. It didn't work. Dino's fingers were digging into my shoulder bones. "Why are you waxing terrible poetry at me, anyways? I'm only here to visit Chrome!"

"–of unmatched glory and unparalleled beauty!" He ranted, and another chill ran down my spine. "Surely, someone as… as… as magnificent and gracious and _understanding _as you would be willing to help out this poor man and do him a little favor!"

… _Little _favor now, was it?

Somehow, I doubted that.

"Get your Boss off of me before I report him for harassment!" I hissed, making ineffectual little swipes in Romario's direction in hopes of receiving aid. (Okay, he was _definitely _laughing at us…) "This is harassment! Harassment, I tell you! Dino, have you finally gone _mad?_"

"Since Reborn tasked me with getting Squalo to finally speak," the Cavallone easily ignored me without skipping a beat, as if I hadn't spoken a single word. "I won't be able to train Kyoya! So, I was thinking of getting this wonderful, kind girl to stand in as my replacement for today–"

I stilled my struggles and stared.

"Oh _hell _no."

He wanted me to spar with Kyoya in his place?!

… Takeshi was enough already. Kyoya… Kyoya would be much more difficult to deal with. Not only that, but I also had a _feeling _–call it gut instinct, if you will– that I shouldn't pull my sword against him, and now that he'd improved in leaps and bounds, I wouldn't be able to afford holding back so much anymore.

"Dino," I tried to catch the blond's attention as he continued spouting off whatever words came to mind. Literature had never been one of his stronger subjects… "_Dino!"_

"Yes, Tsubaki?" He finally cut off from his diatribe, smiling so brightly that it was almost _painful _to look at_._

But.

I smiled lightly in return, and as soon as he relaxed the grip he had on my shoulders...

"Thank you! Haha, I knew I could count on–"

I bolted out the window.

It didn't matter that the window was closed –in my opinion, shattering a panel of glass was a perfectly acceptable casualty in order to escape–

–_what the hell?!_

Kyoya.

_Kyoya._

… Standing right in front of me. From the looks of things… he'd probably been planning on going into the hospital to search for Dino for another round of sparring. The surprise in his countenance was fading fast, and…

His eyes flicked up towards the third floor of the hospital I'd just jumped from, lingering briefly on the assassin-shaped hole in one of the windows –I inwardly cringed– before coming back down and deliberately looking at the glass shards littering the asphalt ground around me, easily putting two and two together as his gaze settled on me again.

He smirked, raising his tonfas.

In response, I let out a careful sigh, standing up and brushing off the stray bits of glass still clinging to my clothes, before tilting my face up towards the clear blue sky and closing my eyes.

"… Someone up there really hates me, huh?"

I looked back at him again. Blinked. Smiled.

Then I turned tail and _ran._

* * *

_He spun, easily dodging under that foolish man's desperate lunge, before swiftly driving his trident up and goring him through the stomach._

_Blood splattered everywhere in a ruby-red shower._

"_Kufufu." He laughed, spreading his arms wide open –the smile on his lips widening as the men circling him faltered in their oh-so-confident steps, not daring to take advantage of the opportunity he presented them with. "Not attacking anymore? How amusing. Did you really think it would be so easy to corner me like this?"_

_At the provocation, two more soldiers leaped at him, crackles of Lightning flaring from the tips of the spears they held –before they, too, fell to the ground, mauled to death by the feral animals he had summoned with his Mist flames._

_And then he saw her, raven-haired and raven-eyed and smiling. _Smiling.

_It was… infuriating, and vexing. _

_(The former a little more so than the latter.)_

_Tsubaki. No last name, no history. Nothing tying her down to any sort of identity other than that single name of hers._

_Who was Tsubaki?_

_An assassin. A cold-blooded assassin who belonged to the mafia. Who lived and breathed in lies and deceit, reveling in the taste of blood. _

_Certainly not a trusted friend and long-time ally of the Vongola._

"_Of course not, Mukuro. I would never underestimate you." The tsurugi in her hands swept towards him, and he knew better than to receive the blow directly with his trident. He shifted to the side before countering with a strike of his own –and she easily broke the illusion he'd crafted, flipping back to avoid falling victim to the same fate of the Millefiore men twitching on the ground, slowly bleeding out from a thousand cuts on their body. _

_He tried to pursue her, to follow up and take advantage of her brief retreat, only to find his path blocked by a sudden rush of more cannon fodder._

_Irritation._

_He swept out a hand filled with Mist flames and watched them fall, dropping like flies–_

–_and then she was gone._

_Well._

_Not quite._

_How many times had he seen it? The familiar sight that came from the clash of metal on steel, formerly restricted to the training rooms, but now brought onto a bloody battlefield?_

"_You've gotten stronger again, Kyoya." This time, her voice was barely audible over the din of battle across the room as she faced her new opponent. A slight trickle of blood ran down the side of her face, and she wiped at it carelessly. The red liquid smeared over the entire left side of her face. "But I'm afraid I'll have to cut this little reunion short. After all, Shouichi is still waiting on me."_

_And the Cloud Guardian refused to say anything in return to their little traitor's words, pressing on with his relentless assault–_

_Smoke._

_Smoke, everywhere. _

_It took less than a second for Mukuro to clear the smokescreen illusion casted by the Millefiore Mist-users, but a single second was all it took for them to take advantage of the opportunity and disappear._

_His eyes cut across to where he'd last seen her, and–_

_Nothing._

_Nothing but empty air._

_And Hibari lowered his tonfas._

…

"_So she escaped again, hm?" Mukuro let out a mock-sigh as he strode up to the prickly-tempered Cloud Guardian, ignoring the annoyed glare cast his way. It was always fun to rile up Kyoya, but this time his goal wasn't to tease, but to… "I would've expected something like that from the bleeding heart of our dear Rain Guardian, Kyoya. Not you."_

"_Shut up." The reply was both expected and automatic. Normal. Nothing out of place. Nothing in his tone suggesting that there might be something _more _to the reason she'd escaped. But if there was nothing wrong, then why would he let her go? No one –_no one– _escaped from Kyoya once he set his eyes on them. So… "I'll bite you to death."_

"… _Kufufu." Mukuro smirked, not letting any of his thoughts reveal themselves across his face as he spun the trident in his hands. "You're welcome to try."_

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

**IMPORTANT:** A **pairing poll** is now up. No characters will be added or deleted to the available voting options, I don't think. Three choices only –I'm kind of interested in what the results will look like, to be honest. :D I actually have an option I'm rooting for since I think it'll be fun to write, but I'll keep quiet about it so as not to induce bias in voters.

_There is also a fourth 'no pairing' choice in the poll, for those of you who are completely against the idea of involving any pairings in this story. _In other words: I _don't _want to hear people complaining about us "ruining" this story by introducing the idea of pairings, capish? I will laugh at you and pity you and assume that you are illiterate if you leave us a review saying 'U SUK. Y U ADD PAIRING?' … So please, do us all a favor and just don't. Click on the 'no pairing' vote if you dislike the idea so much. (It's not like a pairing is _guaranteed_ by us putting up this poll, anyways. We just want to know what people think about it.)

The poll can be found by heading to Zuiliu's profile and clicking on the 'Vote Now' thing at the very top of the page. Choices for the poll should show up after that, and you can click on whatever option you prefer there and submit your vote. :3

… Okay, so we're done with the Mist battle now. Got a little bit into the start of the Cloud Battle with that bit of humor towards the end, so we'll continue on with Hibari's match next time. The Sky battle will also be in the next chapter, I think –hopefully, we'll be able to finish that soon?

Future arc, why are you so far away… OTL

**QUESTION: **We've got some more clues for the answer to this question scattered throughout the story now, so… time for round two: Any guesses on Tsubaki's flame attribute?

Leave us a note on what you think of this chapter, yeah?

…

Later, everyone. **Don't forget to vote!**

Zuiyun out.


	14. 01: 14 Yet to Come

"_What are you doing here?"_

_I glanced up as a tall shadow fell over me, quickly forcing a small smile to settle over my lips. _

_(Hurry, before he notices anything wrong.)_

"_Just watching, Iemitsu."_

_A shower of flickering flames in the not-so-far distance. We both winced at the resulting explosion –an indication of another failed attempt at mastering the Zero Point Breakthrough. _

"… _At least the explosions aren't as wild and uncontrolled as they were in the beginning?" I tried to stay optimistic, "Tsuna seems to have better control of his flames now. I'm sure he'll be able to complete the technique in time for his match against Xanxus."_

_Iemitsu's hands found their way into his pockets as he gave me a wry smile, "I don't need you to tell me that about my own son, Tsubaki."_

_My temper flared in response._

"_As if you were ever here for him as a father."_

_A single beat of silence._

"… _I apologize. That was uncalled for."_

_This time, there was a tired edge to Iemitsu's eyes when he spoke again. "No, you're… you're right. Tsuna doesn't… I don't… we never…"_

"_Sorry," I repeated myself, standing up from where I'd been sitting at the edge of the cliff. It took less than a second for me to jam the twin guns I'd been polishing back into the holsters on my thighs, and I gently clapped Iemitsu on the shoulder as I turned to leave. "I didn't mean it that way."_

_I walked past him on silent footsteps, knowing that despite the perfectly contrite tone I'd spoken with, there was still a lingering undercurrent of resentment in my heart towards him on Tsuna's behalf._

_Probably not the best of attitudes to take against someone who was my boss, but–_

_Well._

… _Maybe he'd try sticking around a little while longer after the Ring Battles were over this time?_

_The Vongola Famiglia might present a united front to all outsiders, but the relations within each individual family inside were always tangled and convoluted beyond what could qualify as being even remotely healthy. _

_Just take a look at Xanxus and Timoteo._

…

* * *

"Tsubaki! How lovely it is to see you again this fine night–"

The blond man broke off abruptly as he quickly ducked under the projectile speeding towards him.

"Fine night my _ass_. Dino, you suck. _Massively."_

He raised his head, peering quietly at me for a moment before craning back to stare at the dark outline embedded in the concrete wall with the faint aura of disbelief-borderline-incredulity.

"… Did you just throw a shoe at my head?"

"Would you rather have me throw my _sword _at you?" I groused, folding my arms across my chest as I _glared. _Dino gave a nervous laugh in response as he began approaching me cautiously, in a manner not unlike the one he would use in approaching a feral animal. Which was just as well; admittedly, I was a little high-strung at the moment… no thanks to a _certain someone._

"I'd prefer not having anything thrown at me, if it's all the same to you." There was still a small note of consternation in his voice, which only fanned my irritation even more. "Still, why your shoe?"

_"Why do you think?"_ I huffed, standing to my feet from the windowsill and stretching. It wasn't his fault that he didn't know, but that didn't mean the blame for this all didn't rest with him in the first place. "I lost my other one a few blocks back, thanks to being chased by a _certain someone's _student. Might as well try to peg you with the only one I have left. Can you imagine the ridiculous looks they gave me for showing up to the battle in only one shoe and half a jacket? I'll have you know that you're ruining my reputation with this… and you're paying me back for my clothes, by the way."

"Ahaha…"

"Hibari is _relentless, _Dino. Vicious, too."

"Yes, yes, I know that."

He rapidly backpedaled on his patronizing when I reached for my sword.

"A-Anyways! I mean, uh… Um, shouldn't you be, er, watching the Cloud Battle right now?"

"It's already over," I shrugged. "Hibari won, but Gola Mosca… turns out it was apparently only a machine using the Vongola Nono as its power source."

"_What?!"_

"Don't look at me like that; you think _I_ expected this to happen?" A lie. But one he wouldn't be able to identify as false from my lips. Dino was skilled, yes, but he wasn't _Reborn, _didn't have the same years of experience as the legendary hitman did, and that made all the difference. "Anyways, I only came here to fetch you. You should get going soon –I left as soon as I saw the state the Nono was in. If he doesn't get medical attention in time, I'm afraid the Vongola will be greeting their new Decimo very shortly after these Ring Battles reach their conclusion."

Dino spent all of three seconds gaping at me before bursting into a flurry of motion.

* * *

"_So… this is it, huh?"_

_It is._

_The ebon-haired girl smiled, and Shouichi couldn't help but subconsciously compare it to the smiles he used to see from her. There was a tired, brittle edge to it now –heavier than it had ever been before– and considering what role Tsuna had tasked her with in their plan, even if he had only been thinking of her–_

"_Namimori, Japan. It feels so long since we've last set foot in that place." Tsubaki leaned back in her seat, delicately folding one leg over another. "You'll be taking control of the Melone base from Gamma, then?"_

"_Yes." He reached up a hand, adjusting his glasses. Trying not to shiver, because he _wasn't _cut out for acting –they'd always known that once the plan had been put into motion, they'd have to give their all in putting up the image of normalcy while they waited, but it was just so _hard.

_How could she stand smiling like that all the time?_

_(His stomach ached on a daily basis nowadays.)_

"_Ahhh, to be so trusted by our fearless leader." A teasing note in her tone that had the pair of Cervello twins tensing behind him. What was she playing at? Unless… "I feel almost jealous of you, Shou-i-chi."_

… _Unless she was _acting _again, playing up the role of an assassin whose loyalty belonged to no one –not completely, at least. Not even the man she was currently following. After all, they all knew what had happened to the last man she followed, didn't they?_

_(Tsubaki was many things, but she _wasn't _a cold-hearted assassin like the others of the Guild. She _wasn't._)_

_(… She did happen to be an excellent actress, though.)_

_He very carefully kept his expression blank and his voice authoritative when he spoke again. _

_… After all, he had the role of a villain to play, even to her._

"_Your explicit orders from Byakuran are to answer only to me."_

"_Yes."_

"_You will not carelessly intermix with the Black Spell once we arrive."_

"_Yes."_

_And, narrowing his eyes–_

"_You will not betray us like you did Sawada Tsunayoshi."_

_She laughed; a bone-chilling sound._

"_Of course not, Commander Irie."_

_Even knowing that they were only putting on a show for Byakuran, his heart still clenched in pain for her._

* * *

"Now _that _has ought to hurt."

Tsuna crashed into the ground as Xanxus finally stopped holding back –ever since his flames started flickering in that oh-so-familiar pattern signaling the Zero Point Breakthrough–

"Y'think?" There was a distracted note in Dino's voice, the majority of his attention fixed on tracking the progress of Tsuna's battle. Which wasn't going well at all. Xanxus was strong –overwhelmingly so, which was a given. Tsuna was still a _child _in the mafia world, while Xanxus had years upon years of combat experience under his belt. By all means, the chances of Tsuna being able to defeat Xanxus were very, very slim. And as some might say, it would take nothing short of a genuine miracle for a child like Tsuna to be able to defeat Xanxus.

… Then again.

If anyone could create a miracle, it would be Tsuna.

The Sky Battle that the Cervello had sanctioned –honestly, it was _invalid. _Tsuna already had four rings on his side; they should've declared his victory the moment the Cloud battle came to a close. Even with the Gola Mosca development interrupting things, it still should've counted as Tsuna's victory in the Ring Battles. Had Xanxus truly intended to challenge Tsuna for the position of Vongola Decimo using the Nono's death as an excuse, he would've only been allowed to challenge _after _the rings had been handed to Tsuna –because _it was Tsuna's victory in the Ring Battles._

Having the Cervello retake the all Vongola Rings and instead set up a Sky Battle… _it wasn't valid. _It was only a battle of convenience –to avoid the trouble it would take to re-challenge Tsuna, and use this opportunity to obtain the rings while simultaneously declaring 'revenge' all in one fell swoop.

Xanxus was fortunate to have the Cervello backing him, though that support wouldn't last long.

(… After all, even though the Cervello diligently maintained their practiced claim of neutrality, their allegiance only belonged to those who were in the seat of power.)

"_Ice?"_

A small smile curved on my lips at the incredulous murmurs around me. Tsuna had done it again, hadn't he?

_Zero Point Breakthrough. _

_The same technique as Vongola Primo._

The young boy reached out with his hands, and ice trailed his fingertips. At first it only covered the arms –but then it _spread, _rapidly encasing the entirety of Xanxus's body.

"… This is Tsuna's victory, then?"

"Definitely."

It was at that point that Mammon appeared, seven Vongola Rings clutched in hand –while wildly weaving and ducking through pillars upon pillars of roaring flames that spontaneously combusted from the ground.

"She still has that much strength left in her, even with the aftereffects of the Death Hitter poison lingering in her body?"

It was only a side comment from Reborn as Chrome burst into sight, tightly clutching the three-pronged trident in her hands.

… Still, it was a question I was obliged to answer to.

"I've started her on a regimen of certain drugs to begin building resistance to various toxins." I kept my eyes carefully fixed on the battle at hand instead of looking at Reborn. "I've been taking care of her meals… plus, the drugs I'm using aren't exactly poisons, so that doesn't violate my contract with Sawada in any manner. I've spent… what, half a month with her already? It's not enough time to build a high tolerance to most poisons, but it's better than nothing."

Flames burst from the Vongola Rings in Mammon's hands, and the Zero Point ice that trapped Xanxus began melting.

But when the Sky Ring slid onto his finger–

_Blood._

…

"Oi, Cervello! You've seen what the Varia is planning –let us out of here so we can stop them, kora!"

"Don't bother, Colonello. We've tampered with it beforehand; no one will be getting out of that observation cage. Just sit still and wait for your death."

"_Viper, _you complete _ass–"_

And then Lancia came, and the Sky Battle came to a close.

_"We declare the victory of candidate Sawada Tsunayoshi as Vongola Decimo."_

_…_

* * *

"_Hey, what's with the long face, Tsubaki?"_

_I smiled tiredly at him._

"_Nothing, Tsuna. I guess you could say I'm just a little… tired."_

"_Aren't we all?" The young man gave a little sigh as he flopped down gracelessly beside me, running a hand through his hair. "Everyone's been looking a little ragged these days."_

"_Well, there's always work to do."_

"_That there is."_

…

"_Sometimes, Tsuna… I feel really, really tired." I laid down on my back, staring up at the blue, blue sky. Knowing that he was listening to each and every one of my words. "What do you think it would be like? Just closing your eyes one day and resting, letting go of everything, never having to worry again… sounds peaceful, doesn't it?"_

"_It does. But if I did that… I'd never be able to see you guys again, would I?" His face swam into view, hovering over mine. My breath caught in my throat. "I don't think I could ever stand for that to happen."_

_His words ended in a soft whisper._

_I let out a small huff of laughter, shifting my gaze to the side._

"_I guess that's the reason why I'm still here, then."_

_Calloused fingers gently grasped the edge of my chin and tilted my face back, so I was forced to look into those brown-flickering-amber eyes again. Those eyes that all but _burned _with a brilliant intensity._

"… _Promise me you won't die, Tsubaki." He finally said, staring at me intently._

_…_

_I smiled._

"_So long as you still have need of me by your side, I will never die."_

* * *

"Where's Reborn?"

That had been the first clue that something had gone terribly, horribly wrong. Not that it had made me any wiser at the time.

Reborn was here to teach Tsuna_. S_adistic, trigger-happy hitman tutor or not, Reborn always took his jobs seriously. There would be no reason for him to abandon Tsuna out of the blue, especially not after Tsuna had finally won the Vongola Rings from Xanxus. So what was the point in pulling a disappearing act for _days _on end?

It didn't make sense.

"I dunno about that, Sawada."I crossed my arms, leaning in the doorway of the decrepit Kokuyo building. "You're positive that Reborn is missing, though? He didn't say anything to you beforehand? Training exercise, maybe?"

Tsuna shook his head rapidly.

"He just _disappeared _after he got hit by Lambo's bazooka!"

Hit by the bazooka? _Reborn? _If it had been anyone else, maybe… but _Reborn? _Hit by _Lambo?_

Some things just weren't meant to be possible.

"Try checking the bazooka again, then." I suggested to him, watching him wring his hands worriedly. "Maybe there's something wrong with it? You can take it to one of the Bovino inventors to get it fixed, if that's the case. Do you know if Lambo ever performs maintenance on it?"

Judging by the dumbstruck look he gave me, it was painfully evident that a certain cowprint-wearing child hadn't been paying attention in his weapon-maintenance lessons. This would clearly have to be remedied. Soon.

"You can look for me again if that doesn't work," I offered easily, "I might have a few reliable contacts for this sort of thing, if even the Bovino geniuses can't fix it. Which I highly doubt, but… well, you never know."

"Thanks!" A grateful smile –had he already forgotten that apprehension from standing in the presence of a killer around me? Tsuna was too trusting –always had been, always will be– "And, um…"

A small shuffle on his feet, before he looked up again, an embarrassed edge tinting his next words that had me freezing:

"You can call me Tsuna. I mean, you're around my age, right? And we all call you Tsubaki, so it's only fair… and, um, all of my friends just call me Tsuna, and it's just awkward when I'm being called 'Sawada' by anyone other than a teacher…"

… Had he even realized that he had subconsciously relegated me into the mental group of 'friends?'

"Ah…" I hadn't even been aware of my lips moving, before– "Okay, then. Tsuna."

_Tsuna._

Tsuna.

A smile twitched its way across my lips, "I hope you find Reborn soon, Tsuna."

The smile he gave me in return was blinding.

(Never lose that smile, Tsuna.)

* * *

"Oi, where in the world is the Juudaime? I haven't seen him all morning!"

"No idea, Gokudera." I said blithely to the scowling teen. "If it's of any consolation to you, he dropped by here yesterday to ask me if I knew where Reborn was. You wouldn't happen to know about that either, would you?"

"If I could ask Reborn about the Juudaime's whereabouts, why would I be _here?"_

I blinked.

"… Good point."

A heartbeat of silence passed between us.

"Well," I finally remarked, "I honestly have no idea where he could be. But it's not like him to leave you guys, so… maybe Reborn has something planned for his training regime again? That's the only thing I can think of right now. Some sort of tracking exercise where he's hiding and forcing our dear Vongola Decimo to search for him."

A look of dawning realization appeared on Hayato's face at that suggestion, and I suppressed the urge to smile.

"Tell you what," I snapped my fingers, drawing his attention to me again. "It's almost noon, right? You might want to buy some food before you run off looking for him. Knowing him, he probably wouldn't have thought to bring anything along with him for this exercise."

"I don't need you to tell me that!"

I took it as a point in my favor when his voice, albeit irritated –carried no insults in my direction.

* * *

"Tsubaki! Do you extremely know where Tsuna and Gokudera are?"

I twitched, feeling an oddly familiar déjà vu sensation wash over me as I stifled another yawn.

… Seriously, what was Ryohei doing at four o'clock on Kokuyo doorsteps? Ken was going to have a _fit _if he was woken up to this racket…

"Tsuna came by a few days ago," It was _cold _outside, and my body wanted to sleep… "He said Reborn was missing…?"

"The extreme baby, too! All three of them have disappeared!"

Worry. Concern. I could see it in his eyes –even though he tried to hide it under a cheerful mask. That mask… was it just so others wouldn't worry about him? True, Ryohei _was _a little on the thickheaded side of things, but there were occasional times when I suspected him of being more similar to Takeshi than any of us properly realized. This was one of those times.

"Well…" I said slowly, "They have to be _somewhere _in Namimori, right?"

Ryohei instantly brightened.

"You're right! In that case, I will extremely search all over Namimori until I find them!"

And then I was left staring at a dust cloud rapidly vanishing at the end of the road.

"… Good luck?"

The door creaked open behind me, and Chikusa poked his head out.

"Did someone just come by? I thought I heard some noise outside, and Ken was getting restless…"

"… No. Go back to sleep, you're just hallucinating."

* * *

"Hey, Tsubaki! Do you know if–"

"This," I deadpanned, "This has got to stop. Did you all agree to meet on my doorstep or something, and just mess up on the dates with each other instead? Because I have to say, this joke is getting old, fast."

Takeshi blinked in surprise, seemingly bewildered by my response.

"But I haven't even–"

I plowed on through his words.

"You're going to ask me where Tsuna, Gokudera, Sasagawa, and Reborn are, right?"

"Yeah, how–"

"Because Tsuna came by asking about Reborn, Gokudera came by asking about Tsuna, and Sasagawa came by asking about all three of them. Your resident boxer is probably scouring all of Namimori to find their whereabouts at the moment –don't ask, that little bit is probably my fault. Well. It's good training for his body, though, so it shouldn't matter that much."

I finished with a shrug, before noticing the small entourage trailing awkwardly behind him.

"Pleasure to meet you all," I dipped my head briefly, scanning their numbers. "Miura, Sasagawa and… oh, you've brought the children with you, too?"

"The Great Lambo isn't _just _a child!"

"Right, right." I nodded absent-mindedly.

Wait.

Hang on.

… Didn't Tsuna say something about Reborn getting hit by the Ten-Years Later Bazooka and disappearing…?

"Bovino," I abruptly crouched down to the child's eye level. "Bovino, do you mind if I take a look at your bazooka?"

_Y'know, the atrociously purple, time-traveling one?_

The kid gave a small 'hmph,' "Lambo doesn't know about any bazooka!"

"Why are you asking about the bazooka, Tsubaki?" A note of confusion had entered Takeshi's voice. Well, couldn't really blame him for that…

"Tsuna mentioned something along the lines of, 'Reborn disappeared after being hit by Lambo's bazooka.'" I briefly elaborated for his benefit, "So I'm wondering, if it's true… well, shouldn't we check the bazooka just to make sure there's nothing wrong and they got bazooka'd into the future by mistake?"

(Oh, the _irony._)

"No! Don't touch Lambo's bazooka! The Boss told Lambo not to let anyone touch it! Let go let go _let go!"_

It fired.

And it was headed straight towards–

"Miura, Sasagawa, _duck!"_

I hastily tackled the girls down. Time-traveling was a nasty business –no sense in letting them see the future ten years from now, especially if–

"_Tsubaki!"_

How strange.

I was _sure _I had dodged the bazooka entirely –the bazooka wasn't even a flame-tracking weapon, so how…?

And even stranger yet; the bazooka _didn't work on me. _Maybe it had something to do with the 'Cycle' I was in, but in every instance that I'd been hit by the bazooka before –_it just didn't work on me. _

It.

Didn't.

_Work._

_…_

… So what was this pink tunnel that I was falling through…?

* * *

_The future is a very scary place to be._

_… Then again, waking up in a coffin is probably a strong indication that there was something seriously wrong –and just as the ten-years-later Gokudera had been about to explain everything to him, there had been a sudden puff of pink smoke, revealing the Gokudera he had always known._

_Then along came the lady who attacked them for seemingly no reason at all –Lal Mirch._

_Except, it turned out that she hadn't been an enemy. Surprisingly. Thankfully, too._

_(Tsuna wasn't sure if they could fight and win against someone as scary as Lal Mirch. It was a good thing that she hadn't been completely serious when fighting him and Gokudera that time, too –her only purpose in attacking had been to assess their abilities.)_

_And then they had traveled to the Vongola base, meeting up with the ten-years-later Yamamoto, who ushered them inside. He had been carrying a long katana made of steel on his back –where was the Shigure Kintoki?_

_(Tsuna hadn't asked, it didn't seem like a good topic to broach with him.)_

_And Reborn had been sitting there, wearing a strange… suit?_

"_You must gather the six Guardians of this era and defeat Irie Shouichi if you want a chance at returning to the past, Tsuna."_

"_Eh?!"_

_Why them? Why _him?

"_The situation is bad," Reborn's voice was unusually grim, impressing the gravity of their situation. It certainly didn't help Tsuna feel any better about things. "Most of our allies have betrayed us –luckily, the Cavallone Famiglia is still aligned with Vongola, but they have also taken serious losses."_

"_W-What about–" His mind spun, casting around for– "What about the Varia, then? What about Tsubaki?"_

"_Don't think so little of the Varia, Dame-Tsuna." Reborn's voice was sharp. "Even if they were our enemies in the past, the Varia is also part of Vongola, and the Family will always stand together in times of crisis."_

"_A-and Tsubaki?"_

_Please don't say she's dead–_

_Reborn's eyes darkened._

"… _She's a traitor. Right now, she serves as Irie Shouichi's right-hand woman and personal assassin."_

_And hadn't that been a shock to find out?_

_After all, Tsuna still remembered that small, _genuine _smile that had spread across her lips when he asked her to use his name –and how she helped him think of ideas to find Reborn, even if it had landed him in this catastrophic future ten years later–_

"_She's an enemy."_

_… Was she?_

_Because… something in him twisted uncomfortably at the thought, insisted that it wasn't possible, and yet; with the solid, undeniable proof in front of his eyes…_

… _His stomach clenched as the ten-years-later Yamamoto immediately placed himself in front of him, drawing his sword and settling into a fighting stance._

"_Ara, ara, what's this?" Her voice was… wrong. Why was everyone ignoring it? Tsubaki was strong, but at this moment she sounded so… _broken. _As if she was only forcing herself to go on, as if she would fall apart the very second she ceased moving… "Now that's a face I haven't seen in a long time. Move aside so I can get a better look, please, Takeshi?"_

"_Draw your blade."_

_"Awww, you're no fun."Flippant and teasing. But it wasn't _her, _not the Tsubaki who had offered to help him find Reborn, who smiled so happily… "I'm not interested in fighting you, Takeshi. 'Sides, Shouichi specifically told me not to fight without his permission –I'm only stretching my legs with Nozaru here. And Tazaru. They're good boys."_

"_And I suppose you expect me to just believe you like this?"_

_A cracked, bitter smile._

_Why didn't they _see?

"_I'm just a dog, Takeshi. I only bite when I'm ordered to. Otherwise, I assure you that I'm perfectly harmless."_

_And then Yamamoto _moved, _and suddenly the two were locked in a fast-paced clash of steel sparks–_

"_Oh, this isn't good." An offhand remark as she flipped back, putting some distance between the two of them. Yamamoto was there again in an instant, and she was forced to raise her sword to block the long katana. "I don't want to fight you, y'know. I'm running out of time here –see, I'm on a rather tight, ticking schedule, and I'd _really_ prefer not leaving any nasty surprises."_

_Yamamoto didn't respond to her cryptic words, swinging his sword again–_

_And this time, Tsubaki didn't move._

_Instead, her eyes cut across directly to Tsuna's –who gave a small 'eep'– and she smiled again._

_It wasn't a _wrong _smile this time, but it wasn't… it wasn't a happy one, either._

_It was… sad._

_A small, sad smile._

'_Sorry,' she mouthed._

_And then Tsubaki became obscured by a puff of pink smoke, just as blood filled the air._

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Little different than the usual, because we wanted to segue into the Future arc. Skipped over the battles since. Well. It didn't feel like we were ever going to get anywhere with it with what we originally typed up, and it was getting rather tedious… plus, it felt like we were basically regurgitating the manga, so… yeah, an extremely condensed version of the Cloud/Sky battles. There's a lot of segmented parts in this chapter, but it probably won't be happening again anytime soon. Probably.

…

… Aaaaand we've finally made it! Future arc, here we come. Anyone feeling excited? ;3 _Canopus _is getting into its own Future arc stuff too, so I'm also pretty psyched for that. xD This is going to be fuuuun. By the way, _Canopus _is going to be updated again, what, five minutes after this? So head over and check that out if you're interested.

This chapter contains probably the last of the lighthearted humor stuff you'll be seeing for awhile. Just, thought you guys might appreciate a little heads up for what's to come. ;)

Also, updates might begin slowing down since school is starting soon. Hope you all enjoyed these rapid summer updates while they lasted! XxZuiyun and I will do our best to continue to work on writing, but we make no promises. xD

If you haven't **voted** yet, the **pairing poll** for _Onwards Till Dawn _is up on my profile. **New poll** is up; Yamamoto has been taken out of the choices. Please **remember to vote again!**

**QUESTION: **Do you have any suggestions for Tsubaki's box animal? Reasons? :D

Please remember to leave us a note on what you think of the chapter~

-XxZuiliu


	15. 02: 1 The World, 10 Years later

_Darkness._

_Everlasting, fleeting; eternal, ephemeral-_

_And then it all clears away to nothingness, fades swiftly into the spiral of a bottomless abyss, crumbles and breaks apart into a hundred-thousand-million grains of sand-fine dust, and:_

_A white room._

_Marble floors not unlike glass, yet reflecting nothing in their murky, fathomless depths. Pristine pillars of cold stone, leaping high and twisting, curving into tall archways, solemnly watching on in absolute silence._

_A white room, filled with light._

_To the front, a set of doors. Gold and crystal and dull embers embedded in gleaming rhinestones._

_To the back, a set of doors. Silver and obsidian and glittering frost wreathing ornate handles._

_A white room._

…

_Stumble to shaky, unsteady feet. Stagger forward, reach to push through the golden gates, and everything shatters again–_

_Falling._

_Falling._

_Falling._

…

…

…

_Cracking open bleary eyes, feeling pain settle in to weary bones._

_Ashes._

_Still warm, slightly smoking, thin tendrils of gray curling into the air. Small flickers of red flames that haven't quite died out yet…_

…

* * *

**Onwards Till Dawn**

_02: "Apocalyptic World"_

* * *

The first thing my mind registered was _danger._

_Too fast, too quick, can't escape–_

Minimize the damage, if a clean escape is impossible.

… It wasn't hard to make that decision. I had been through far worse before, something like this… risky, inconvenient, but better than the alternative –better than the alternative of _dying, _at least. The sword bearing down on me was _way too close. _

This is going to fucking _hurt, _but unless I wanted to die–

So I gritted my teeth as my body twisted and _turned _and–

Blood filled the air.

…

Almost immediately, I detached myself from the debilitating pain in my right arm before it held any chance of crippling me. Under normal circumstances, I would never allow myself to do anything like this –severing all pain signals in the body was _dangerous;_ I could be damaging myself even more without being aware of it – but then again, _this wasn't normal circumstances._

Far from it.

My sword was in my other hand and slicing towards my attacker already, but he was _fast. _The last vestiges of the horrid pink smoke were beginning to clear, but I hadn't gotten him –there was a red ribbon trailing the edge of my tsurugi as he backpedaled, something strangely like astonishment staggering his steps–

_Pursue or retreat?_

…

I made my decision in a split second and chose the latter option, leaping back, tearing a strip of cloth from my jacket and hurriedly wrapping it once, twice, thrice around my arm –obviously it wouldn't be enough to cover the entire length of the damage done, the long gash that was splitting my arm wide open, but at least it would help cover the blood loss until–

"_Tsubaki!"_

That voice.

_Tsuna?_

My head instantly snapped upwards, and–

… Takeshi?

Takeshi was standing between us –_Takeshi, suddenly taller and older but I recognize him wait bazooka ten years later but why did he _look _like that– _and there was just so much _blood _on his sword, and–

Blood.

_Blood._

My blood.

…

There was a sudden buzzing sensation in my mind that left my body completely numb, one that had absolutely nothing to do with all the blood I was losing right now–

_I don't–_

_How is this–_

_What in the world–_

… _Why?_

Barely aware of my lips moving, but it was someone else's voice that cut across–

"Oi, I have no idea what the hell just happened, but just stay back and get out of my way!"

Storm flames.

My body flattened itself to the ground on instinct –and a torrent of the crimson-edged flames swept over the space my head had formerly occupied, headed straight towards–

_Tsuna! Hayato! Takeshi!_

I whirled around, grasping my tsurugi with my right hand and prepared to–

…

_Nosaru?_

I faltered.

Nosaru. Giglio Nero. _Yuni._

There… there weren't very many moments like this anymore; moments that left me so utterly confused with no idea of what was going on or what to do –being caught flatfooted like this, completely unsuspecting and feeling my mind blank over with _shock–_

… Nosaru was _attacking us? _

But Yuni wouldn't –she would _never _order such a thing! And he was… flying?

Tazaru? Tazaru was here, too?

…

No time.

Ponder on things that don't make sense later.

I staggered to my feet, staunchly ignoring how the blood dripping down my arm splattered everywhere, and swung my sword.

"_What the fuck do you think you're doing, Tsubaki?!"_

I gritted my teeth.

"What are _you _doing, Nosaru?" I bit back. "Where's Yuni?"

… Apparently, that was the wrong question to ask. Something dark flitted across the young teen's face –a similar expression appeared on Tazaru's face as well as he came to a stop behind Nosaru– and the next time he spoke, there was a strangely mocking tone to his words.

"Of course _you_ would worry about the princess_, _wouldn't you?"

A small frown crept over my lips.

"Nosaru, you're not making any sense–"

"_I'm _not making any sense? Ha! Listen to yourself talk!" The purple-haired teen let out a sharp bark of laughter, "_You're_ the one who's not making any sense, Tsubaki! Just –look, are you with us or not? If you are, then get the fuck out of the way. You're _useless _with your arm like that. If not–"

A cruel smirk, edged with bitterness.

"–well, it certainly wouldn't be the first time you decided to turn on your allies."

…

What.

Was.

He.

Talking.

About?

…

Confusion.

I was completely, horribly confused–

_Why are you all looking at me like that I'm not a traitor never will turn on you what are you talking about I would never ever betray the ones that I–_

A plume of pink smoke.

No.

No, make that several plumes of the distinctive, pink-colored smoke –and when it cleared–

* * *

_Nosaru still remembered the first time he met her._

"_Greetings. I am Tsubaki," the raven-haired girl gave a small bow. He fumbled, not quite sure how to respond to this strange etiquette –most members of the famiglia just slung an arm around his shoulder and gave a hearty 'Yo!' –but then again, she wasn't part of the Giglio Nero and was even Japanese, so maybe that was why–_

"_Ah, Tsubaki!"_

_Princess._

_The Princess all but skipped down the steps, smiling genially at the young woman standing on their doorstep._

"_Tsuna already sent ahead word of your arrival. It's nice to finally meet you!"_

_Finally?_

"_It's good to see you too, Yuni." A small pause between her words. "Have you… traveled between…?"_

_The Princess cocked her head to the side, and the young woman standing at the doorstep shook her head._

"_Never mind, my mistake," the raven-haired girl said lightly. Except, somehow the light in her eyes seemed heavier than before? Or was that just his imagination, maybe? "So, are you going to invite me in? Tsuna didn't send me here just to make a social call, y'know."_

_At this, all other thoughts dissipated and Nosaru felt himself bristle._

"_How dare you talk to the Princess that way–"_

_Yuni laughed._

_A bright, cheerful sound._

"_It's okay, Nosaru. Tsubaki is a friend."_

…

_Friend._

…

_Tch._

_If only he had been more wary at the time…_

_If only he had kept an eye on the raven-haired girl…_

_If only he hadn't blindly followed the Princess' lead and welcomed her in…_

_If only…_

_Then…_

… _Maybe, maybe things wouldn't have turned out this way._

* * *

Takeshi.

Shorter, younger–

_Takeshi from ten years ago._

"Eh? What's going on–"

Nosaru and Tazaru were bearing down on us now, those Storm-edged scythes in their hands blazing with flames–

And as I desperately tried to make sense of the happenings, these proceedings that were going on too fast for my piece of mind –didn't the Ten Year Bazooka only last five minutes? Hadn't five minutes already passed by now?

Wait.

…

… Tsuna… Tsuna, Reborn, Gokudera… hadn't they all… gone… missing…?

A malfunction, then. The bazooka had malfunctioned, trapping everyone in this future. This future where we were enemies with the Giglio Nero, for some unfathomable reason. Where I was being accused of being a traitor again, the way Lambo had turned hate-filled eyes towards me during the Lightning Ring battle –maybe, this was what he had been referring to…?

I didn't understand.

I didn't understand what was going on.

If Lambo had accused me of being a traitor –defecting to the Giglio Nero, perhaps, judging by Nosaru's ealier words? But then, the Giglio Nero led by Aria and Yuni was no threat to Vongola. They were _allies. _

… They were supposed to be our allies.

I knew them.

Aria.

Yuni.

I knew both of them. In every world, every lifetime, they… they weren't the type of people to condone slaughter, to commit atrocities, they… they were _kind_, in a way different to Tsuna's kindness, but nonetheless a gentle kindness that _wasn't _part of the bloodstained world I knew so well.

I.

Just.

Didn't.

Understand.

…

… But, if there's one thing I understand now… Nosaru and Tazaru are standing across the field from us, attacking us –_attacking with the intent to kill–_ and even though my mind was so horribly confused right now, I could search for answers later. Tsuna, Hayato, and Takeshi… all of them were still only boys, teenagers; still inexperienced in the ways of combat–

_Keep them safe._

Yes.

Keep them safe. That… was the only thing that mattered right now.

I stood there silently, limp and unmoving –body lax and sword hanging loosely in my hand, head lowered as if I had no intentions of fighting or resisting anymore–

Close enough.

Carefully threading my flames into the blade of my sword, I struck out fast and hard just as Nosaru and Tazaru passed over me. Though, judging by the way they instantly reacted, it seemed as if they had indeed anticipated me attacking them in some manner –Nosaru had half-turned while raising the scythe in his hands just as the tip of my sword brushed his spine, while Tazaru had managed to block my tsurugi completely by the time I drew back from Nosaru and turned on him.

"Fast as always," there was a dark little smile on Tazaru's lips as his eyes blazed with anger, briefly glancing towards the direction that Nosaru had fallen in –nonlethal, only paralyzed. Giglio Nero was not the enemy. Couldn't be. "But how long can you keep it up, I wonder?"

He drew back and spun, the Storm flames on the blade of his scythe flaring out wildly as he did so. I rapidly backpedaled, managing to avoid the three consecutive strikes that he followed up with by using a combination of acrobatics assisted by my own flames–

–and watched in complete shock as Tazaru was suddenly swallowed by an overwhelming bust of chaotic Storm flames.

"Tch. Don't think I did it for you, assassin." Hayato –had it really been Hayato who had…? The evidence was there, some sort of skull contraption attached to his arm, glowing with Storm flames and still slightly smoking… "In fact, I've still got a score to settle with you–"

"W-wait! G-Gokudera, please don't!"

Tsuna flailed his arms wildly, attempting to get Hayato to stand down… except… whereas the hotheaded Storm Guardian usually would've subsided and acquiesced to Tsuna's wishes at even the slightest hint of distress from him, there was… something… different…?

"Juudaime." I blinked in surprise. Why did Hayato's voice sound so _strained? _"Juudaime, please don't stop me. Didn't Reborn tell us that day that… _that she is the one who killed you?"_

At that accusation, my mind instantly went blank.

…

…

…

… Killed…

… you?

…

…

Kill.

You.

…

Tsuna?

… Kill…?

…

Pieces of a macabre puzzle fitting themselves together; blatant hostility, cold hatred, burning anger–

_But I would never do something like that except it makes horrible sense but still I would never ever even think of doing something like that it's what I'm trying to prevent I want to protect you keep you safe it doesn't make sense kill–_

"… kill…"

A breathless, lightheaded whisper. Everything spinning, the world falling down around me–

I stumbled.

"No… I don't… I would _never… _why…?"

Scattered, nonsensical words.

_There is no way that I killed Tsuna. Isn't Tsuna standing there right now? He's… he's fine, isn't he? Unless… this is the future, this is ten years into the future… unless, future-Tsuna is… dead? But… that can't be right. It can't be. It can't be it can't be it can't be I refuse to believe it–_

Hands.

The hands gripping my shoulders were… warm.

"Tsubaki?" Brown eyes, shining with worry. Tsuna bit his lip as he looked down at me –when had I fallen to the ground? "Tsubaki, are you alright?"

I opened my mouth and–

"Stay back, Juudaime!"

–and looked up into Hayato's green eyes. Those eyes –mistrustful, wary, angry–

…

Something in me snapped and broke.

Ignoring Takeshi's shouts, Tsuna's cries, I reached out and grabbed Hayato's arm –the arm that was still equipped with the skull-shaped weapon that had effortlessly taken down Tazaru– and pointed the mouth of the weapon at my chest, directly in front of my heart.

Clear, calm, steady.

"_Kill me."_

…

Shock.

Seeing shock was better than seeing hate. Than seeing suspicion. Than wordless fury.

"… You have no idea… the number of people I've killed. The blood on these hands." I smiled humorlessly as I spoke again, never once breaking contact with those forest green eyes as I steadily held his gaze. Trying to articulate my thoughts somehow, trying and failing but maybe succeeding. "When I die," –_when these cycles finally come to an end, one day– _"I have no doubt that I will be going straight to the deepest pits of hell. But that's… okay."

_That's okay._

"My life, my existence; everything I live and breathe and fight for…" _For you. For all of you. Tsuna, Takeshi, Kyoya– _"… you don't know. You won't know. You will never know, but… please. Please understand that…"

…

_Please understand that everything I do is for you._

_Please understand that all I want is to protect you._

_Please understand that, even if you don't know me, even if you won't accept me, even if you never quite come to trust me –I would never, never hurt you. Any of you. All of you. Because you, you are my…_

_… _

"… Please understand. I cannot speak for my future self, whatever she did, but… I… I would never turn on my family. If… if what you've said is true, if I… really…"

My voice faltered.

_If I really… with these hands, if I really… killed… Tsuna…_

"If it's true, then… it wouldn't be enough." Something in my tone hardened, "Even if I died a thousand times over, it still wouldn't be enough to atone for what I did. So if what you say is true, then, please…"

My hand clenched around the weapon on his arm.

"… Please kill me."

Three words.

Three simple little words.

Words that I meant with my entire heart.

_Kill me, and I accept it as punishment –for my future self killing Tsuna– and I will wake up again to an ashen sky, a dull pain throbbing in my heart, grim and determined and ready to–_

"… You think I won't do it?"

His voice was low and hard, a shadow falling across his eyes, and I smiled again.

_Smile, smile._

"If I wanted someone who wouldn't really kill me, I would've had Tsuna holding me at swordpoint." I said lightly, "It's precisely because I know that you are capable of doing it that I'm asking you. So would you please kill me, Hayato?"

…

I don't know.

I don't really know where these words came from, when I was all but stumbling over what I wanted to say a moment ago. I don't really know what the point of this was –why not cut off my own head and bring it all to an end; why appeal to Hayato to kill me?

(Maybe somewhere inside me, the naïve, idealistic part that existed under all the pain and blood, maybe… maybe I wanted to try and convey my feelings to Hayato, to show him that I _wasn't _the enemy, that I would never turn on them, that _this _was my conviction, my will, for the sake of the family. Because even if they didn't consider me as one of them–)

…

An explosive exhale.

…

"Let go of my arm."

I binked.

"… Oi, let go of my arm!" Hayato snapped, wrenching back his arm –my fingers loosened, mind momentarily _stunned… _because I had long since learned that it was useless to hope, that it was futile to believe that– "I'm not– I'm not going to kill you. Not… not because you don't _deserve _it, but… because that's not what Juudaime wants. We're not– argh, we're here to try and fix things in this messed up future so we can return to the past; we're not _killers, _goddamnit!"

Rambling.

Hayato also… had the tendency to ramble… when he wasn't sure of what to say…

"Don't scare us like that!" And suddenly Tsuna was next to me again, nervously gesturing with his hands. "Is… is your arm okay? It looks…"

Right.

My arm.

I… completely forgot about it.

"It doesn't hurt," I placated Tsuna, who didn't look very reassured by my comment. To the side, Hayato gave a derisive snort –but honestly, it was the truth.

Right now, there was no pain at all.

I examined the bloody mess with clinical disinterest –the cloth I had ripped to use as a makeshift bandage wasn't very clean, and the wound was still bleeding heavily. Had it cut to the bone, even? I didn't feel anything in that arm right now, made sure that I wouldn't feel anything in that arm…

"Say, where are Kyoko and Haru?" Takeshi glanced around, "I think they got hit by the bazooka, too –the kids should probably be with them, I think–"

"We should go," Hayato cut in abruptly, "If they're here, they shouldn't be too far. We should find them and get back to the base before any enemy reinforcements come."

… Enemy…?

"Just to clarify…" I said slowly, still trying to wrap my head around the concept– "The Giglio Nero is Vongola's enemy?"

"Eh?" Tsuna blinked in confusion, "What's the Giglio Nero?"

… What.

Did he just ask what I think he…?

"… The Giglio Nero. Their famiglia." I pointed towards Nosaru and Tazaru, who were still laying unconscious a little ways to the side. "Both of them are members of the Giglio Nero under Ari… Yuni, aren't they?"

"We're at war with the Millefiore." Hayato frowned. "Giglio Nero… Reborn told us that the Millefiore is a combination of two famiglias merged together –the Giglio Nero is one of them, and the other is the Gesso."

I froze.

…

Gesso.

Gesso.

_Gesso._

… Byakuran.

What… why in the world would… Yuni and _Byakuran_… what…?!

"Tsubaki, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." It was an automatic response at this point. Even if it was far from the truth.

Just…

_What the fucking hell happened in this goddamned future?_

I needed intel. Not only intel, but if Nosaru and Tazaru could fight at this level… they weren't the strongest members of Giglio Nero; Gamma and Genkishi would be leagues beyond them in terms of power, and if they had really merged with the Gesso to become 'Millefiore,' if I were to fight them in the not-so-distant future…

…

"Tsuna?"

"Y-yes?"

I ignored his stutter.

"I…" A brief hesitation, before I ploughed on. "I need to leave for a bit. This future, it's… there's a few things I need to find out, that I need to confirm, and… I need to pick up some supplies, if this… type of combat is what we'll have to expect in the future."

_Those scythes._

_Box weapons._

… _I remember the experiments that Byakuran did for those. Especially the animal-based prototypes…_

"B-but your arm–!"

"It'll be alright. I'll get it treated on the way," I waved a hand dismissively, mind distracted by the memories I retained. "Don't worry about me, Tsuna."

Trust.

Such a fragile thing… honestly, it would be best to stay with them after forming a brief thread of trust, of tearing down my mask, of letting them _see, _but… but this was _important; _if Byakuran had completed the box weapons in this world, then based on what I remembered of their destructive power–

If I wanted to be able to protect them–

_Just what had my future self been doing?!_

_… _

I flipped out my cell phone and began scrolling through my contacts list, looking through numbers and preparing to send messages.

Ten years into the future or not, not all debts would be so easily cleared –and given the current state of things, it was time to make good on collecting those favors.

(Of having a chance of standing against Byakuran, ten years earlier than I anticipated anything like this happening.)

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

… On the bright side, Tsubaki isn't dead. There shouldn't be any worries on that front… for the moment, that is. xD Out of curiosity though, do you predict a happy/sad/bittersweet ending for this story? And what kind of ending would you prefer?

(The end is still a loooooong ways off, but I'm just kind of interested in what you guys think. ;3)

Nope, Tsubaki isn't just going along with the Millefiore. And not outright joining Tsuna's group, either. She's going on a little trip of her own instead –which we may or may not skip a little, depending on XxZuiyun's opinion, for the most part. :D

Any thoughts about the whole getting-Gokudera-to-hold-her-at-gunpoint thing? I kinda feel sorry for Tsubaki in this chapter, getting so many bombshells dropped on her all at once… ;)

Right now, Tsuna and the others still think their enemy is Shouichi. Tsubaki knows the big bad boss is Byakuran, but since they haven't broached that topic… :3 Tsuna and co. will still be in the dark about that for awhile and go on to invade Melone base.

Small Nosaru POV in this chapter, hinting that Tsubaki may have had some sort of interaction with the Giglio Nero. xD

Tsubaki doesn't know about the Millefiore because in her previous lives, Byakuran was the leader of the Gesso and Yuni/Aria the leader of the Giglio Nero. For her, this is the first world in which a 'Millefiore' existed, hence part of her surprise in this chapter.

The pairing poll has been taken down. We're not confirming or denying any pairing for now, it's just… meh, we'll probably let the story progress a little more before thinking about considering that train of thought again. Thanks to everyone who voted, though! Your votes have all been taken into account and we'll keep it in mind as we continue writing the story. :3 Guess what choices XxZuiyun and I were rooting for on the poll~ xD

So, as an offside note, I was surfing around on the web recently and found KHR Altor –it's a fanmade game of KHR. Mukuro or Gokudera 'paired' with Tsuna(who is controlled by the player), I think? Haven't gotten around to playing it yet, but the graphics seem really nice. :3 Kinda curious if anyone has heard of it or played it before; apparently, it's been out for several years already…

Well… back to _Onwards Till Dawn_. Question time! xD

**QUESTION(1): **Same as last time.** What box animal would you suggest for Tsubaki and why? **Because we had a vague idea before, but now we're completely undecided on it, haha. = w=

**QUESTION(2): **What do you guys think? Does Byakuran know about Tsubaki's 'looping?'

* * *

_10/08/14 Story Stats:_

The next chapter for _Canopus _is still in-progress. Same goes for _Drown _and _Diamond Dust. _So many prompts to look through for _Diamond Dust_ though, haha. xD Starting to write up some parts for _Memento Mori,_ too, though I'm considering changing the title…

_Senkei_ is still on hiatus. Rewrite will probably be posted sometime during spring break if I ever get around to it. We'll see. :3

* * *

Till next time~

-XxZuiliu


	16. 02: 2 Preparing for Battle

"Aaaand, here you go, little lady."

I slipped the small bottle that he slid across the countertop into my pocket wordlessly, and the man laughed.

"Anything else you need?" He gave a broad grin, a slow smile that stretched at the long scar running down the left side of his face. A scar that matched the blade of my sword, during the time when it had been wielded by its previous owner.

"'Cuz I've gotta say, I haven't had any interesting customers with in a long time." The young man went on good-naturedly, "In fact, I didn't even know that there was still anyone out there who knew I made this stuff. The ones who do… well, they'd sooner throw themselves off a cliff than visit little ol' me."

I didn't respond.

He laughed again.

"Ah, tight-lipped, are we? Well, I can work with that. You're not the only quiet one that I've had as a customer over the years…"

He turned around in nonchalant dismissal, blood-red hair swirling over his shoulders in a crimson wave as he strode away from the counters–

"… but you'll have to do better than just put a cloth mask over that pretty little face of yours if you want to hide your identity from me, Tsubaki. Looking rather young today, aren't we?"

A reluctant smile of amusement twitched its way onto my lips. Truth be told, I wasn't surprised at being called out like this –if there was anyone in the Guild who could recognize me with a single glance, it would be him… ten years younger or not.

Even if he wasn't an official member of the Guild anymore.

"Feeling rather talkative today, aren't we?" I quipped back, and the redhead laughed again.

"Go on, shoo." Ren reached for a bottle of liquor sitting innocently to the side, "I'm not all that interested in your business. Doubt you're here for a chat, either, but I suspect I'll be hearing things about you soon enough."

I shrugged, turning and–

He raised his cup in a lazy salute after me. "… But I've gotta say, good job on fooling them all, Tsubaki. Always knew you had it in you for this kind of work, unlike poor ol' me. Cheers, eh?"

–exiting the room, letting the door swing shut behind me without another word.

* * *

_Gamma would never admit it to anyone, but when he finally found Nosaru and Tazaru lying face-down on the ground, motionless and unmoving with so much _blood_ pooling under them, with a certain raven-haired assassin nowhere in sight –his heart had very nearly stopped._

_Luckily, they had only been injured. Deep cuts and lacerations, but superficial injuries in the end. Easily cured with a Sun-user on hand._

"–_and just, 'poof!' Pink smoke! And then she got all smaller and just attacked us!" Nosaru shouted animatedly, and Gamma felt his eyes narrow at the report._

_Pink smoke?_

_How very… strange._

_He would have to investigate this. Not only had Nosaru and Tazaru almost died on what was supposed to be an effortless excursion to eliminate a pair of girls who were only civilians –Nosaru closer to death than Tazaru had been; he recognized the wounds on the young man's body as one of Tsubaki's trademark moves. Any stronger and permanent nerve damage would be the least of his worries– but he had a gut feeling that there was something more to this. To this entire ordeal._

_He had a feeling that this might have something to do with how restless Irie was becoming these days. Tsubaki's betrayal could only account for so much of his tension. He couldn't even find it in himself to be surprised at learning that she had switched sides yet again._

_Whimsical, indeed._

_Gamma had seen his fair share of assassins over the years, but to see one whose loyalties changed as quickly and abruptly as Tsubaki's did, to so simply commit betrayal with no warning signs until it was far too late to take heed, to so easily turn on those who had been allies just the day before…_

"_Saw a bunch of other brats, too. They all got smaller," Nosaru scowled, trying to sit up in the hospital bed. Gamma absentmindedly pushed him down again. "I'm fine! When I see that Gokudera Hayato again, I'm gonna slice him up and–"_

"_You will do no such thing." A hint of sharpness seeped into his tone, before Gamma softened his voice again. In some ways, Nosaru was truly still a child. "Gokudera Hayato is the Vongola Storm Guardian. He's not an enemy you can defeat so easily."_

"_He's a brat now, too!"_

…

… _Wait, what?_

_Nosaru huffed, "I'm not lying, honest! They really all just suddenly turned into little brats!"_

_.. Brats…?_

_And then he remembered it. When Irie had visited him upon coming to the Melon base, requesting to be updated on any 'strange occurrences' that happened in Namimori…_

…

"_We'll wait a few days until you and Tazaru are better," Gamma decided, mind awhirl with the implications that Nosaru's words carried. "Next time, I'll head out with you into Namimori. Sounds interesting."_

…

_If his hunch was right, this was something he would have to see for himself before deciding his next move._

* * *

I snapped my cell phone shut, sighing and rubbing tiredly at my eyes. Who knew that random spam messages were still being sent to this number even ten years into future?

The taxi driver gave me a friendly beam as I slid into the car.

"Where are you headed, little miss?"

"The airport," I said shortly.

"Oh, really?" Such an innocent, innocent tone that the man had adopted to use. "Aren't you a little young to be on a plane by yourself?"

I glanced sharply at him from the corner of my eyes.

"… If you take out that knife in your pocket and try to threaten me with it, I assure you that I will have no qualms cutting off your hand. I advise you to think twice before trying to rob me."

The man froze, left hand halfway hidden in the folds of his long coat, and I reached over to the driver's seat and patted his cheek, _smiling _as I leaned in.

(The kind of crazed smile that promised any form of disobedience would be met by pain.)

Time was of the utmost importance now. The sooner I could get everything done with, the sooner I would be able to fight, and the sooner I would be able to return to them. I had no patience for these kinds of things, not when there was so much at stake, not when there wasn't enough _time._

"Be a good boy," I crooned softly into his ear, feeling the man shiver not unlike Birds had done so under my fingertips so long ago. "_And take me to the airport. Now."_

His foot hit the gas pedal.

* * *

_Everything was progressing according to plan._

… _For the most part. Mostly._

"_Tetsu," Hibari let his gaze cut towards his second-in-command as they strode down the hallway, away from the training room where Tsunayoshi had just received his 'gift' from the previous Vongola Bosses for him. Youngest candidate to pass the Trial ever, he thought ironically to himself, shaking his head internally. The Tsunayoshi ten years in the future had also been hailed as the youngest to pass that Trial. _

_There was still hope for them. However, time was no longer a luxury they could afford –Gamma's presence here a few days earlier had already signified that Byakuran was beginning to take note of the recent happenings in Namimori, and would most likely be making his move soon if they didn't act ahead of him._

"_Report."_

"_Yes," Kusakabe nodded in response to the curt tone with which he was addressed. "The Sawada Tsunayoshi and Gokudera Hayato from ten years ago were the first ones to arrive at the base. When they set out with Yamamoto to aid Lambo and I-pin in escorting Haru and Kyoko back, there was a brief altercation with soldiers sent by the Millefiore. All of them were switched with their past selves around then."_

_A small pause. Hibari waited for his second-in-command to continue, knowing there was more to come._

"… _Tsubaki was present at the time on the Millefiore squad. She… was switched as well." Kusakabe's eyes briefly drifted to the ground, before looking up again. "Apparently, she helped fend off the two Black Spell members attacking them. She incapacitated one and distracted the other long enough for Gokudera to land a finishing blow."_

_Of course._

_Of course she would protect them._

_That had been part of the plan as well, relying on the fact that her past self would defend the little herbivores–_

"_She left the scene after that, and Sawada returned with the others." Here Kusakabe hesitated again, "They don't… they don't seem to regard her as an enemy anymore. I admit, her actions, her behavior; they were quite… confusing. She showed familiarity with the Giglio Nero but seemed to have no knowledge of the Millefiore."_

_That was not surprising to hear. Made sense, even… considering what she had confided in them regarding her… unique circumstances._

"_Where did she go?" He questioned, and Kusakabe shook his head._

"_We were unable to track her."_

_... The original plan had involved Hibari being here when Tsubaki switched places with her ten-years-younger self, after which he would hide her in his half of the Vongola quarters before the attack on the Melone base –whereupon she would then join in and help, before the truth was finally revealed by Irie Shouichi. _

_In retrospect, they should've considered the possibility of a Millefiore ambush delaying his return to Japan, as well as the possibility of her younger self choosing not to stay with Tsuna but instead go AWOL. _

_However, Hibari was careful enough to let none of his irritation at the situation at large to show on his face. _

"_Inform me when she is sighted in Namimori." He ordered instead, raising an eyebrow when his second-in-command froze. "… Well, Tetsu?"_

"_Y-yes, of course."_

_Kusakabe's confusion was apparent; why in the world would Tsubaki decide to return after 'escaping?' Wouldn't it be better for all of them if she just fell off the face of earth and never showed up again? Also, wasn't she the… enemy? Weren't they supposed to be glad that she was gone?_

_("It's okay if I'm hated and despised–")_

_He turned away before Kusakabe could see his lip curl._

"_She will come back."_

…

_Because, ten years younger or not, he knew that no matter where she went, no matter what she had decided to do, no matter what plans she had in mind –there was no way she wouldn't return here to them._

* * *

"Oooh, you have such pretty rings!"

Apparently, the woman sitting next to me on the flight had a penchant for shiny things. She babbled on and on excitedly about the baubles she had collected over the years –necklaces and tiaras and bracelets and–

"–rings!" Her makeup-smeared face all but _glowed._ "I've been looking for all sorts of unique rings to add to my collection lately! Would you be interested in selling those to me, maybe? I promise you I'll pay a good price for them! I'm a reputable collector, after all, and I–"

"Not interested."

"Oh, don't be like that!" She laughed, a high-pitched sound that was almost earsplitting. The other passengers in our immediate vicinity threw her several disgruntled looks –not that she seemed to be paying attention to any of them. "I'm sure we can work out a deal, little girl. Where are your parents? It's okay if I talk with them and–"

I sighed.

"You seem to be misunderstanding something here." I looked her straight in the eyes, allowing my own to darken –and even though she was an oblivious airhead, the ingrained human instinct of self-preservation kicked in at this point and she fell silent almost immediately.

A thin smile crossed over my lips. "These rings are not for sale."

"… Why not?"

A petulant note, but also mixed with genuine confusion.

"'Why not?'" I parroted, shaking my head. "I went through a lot of trouble to get them, miss. There's nothing you can offer me that will convince me to sell them to you."

"Nothing?" She pouted, crossing her arms. "We could trade!"

Civilian.

No need to harm an ignorant civilian.

Remember that.

"If it helps, there are better rings of this kind out there." I opted for another tactic, "The rings I have aren't of very high quality. You're only interested in the designs, right? I could direct you to the… store I bought them from once we're off the plane."

"Really? Thanks!"

…

…

…

It was easy enough to slip away unnoticed in the rush of the crowd and leave the portly woman none the wiser.

* * *

"_Can't sleep?"_

_Tsuna looked down with a small start._

"_R-Reborn!"_

_The not-infant easily jumped onto the surface of the table, where Tsuna had been nursing a glass of water in his hands._

"_You should be in bed. How can you ever expect to defeat Hibari during training if you won't even let your body rest and recover?" The hitman reached out and easily knocked back his student's water not unlike one would a shot of whiskey. _

_Tsuna didn't even bother protesting his tutor's actions, instead sighing and dropping his head into his hands._

"… _Is there something bothering you? The planned raid on the Melone base, perhaps?"_

"_That's part of it," Tsuna admitted. Reborn waited for him to continue. "I'm also… worried about Tsubaki."_

_The hitman's eyes flashed darkly._

"_Don't show compassion for the enemy, Tsuna."_

"_She's not an enemy!" The foolish brunet protested. So blind. So oblivious. "You weren't there when she helped us, Reborn–"_

_Help?_

"_If I recall correctly, she was fighting with Yamamoto beforehand," he remarked dryly._

_He… hadn't quite expected what came next._

"_That's not the point! She didn't want to!" Tsuna exclaimed hotly, slamming his hands down on the table, and Reborn idly wondered whether it was a good thing or not that his student would only show a backbone when the situation concerned his friends. Which, apparently, now included Tsubaki amongst their numbers. "I can't… I can't explain it, but she's… she's _hurting, _Reborn, and when she was here she didn't–"_

"_Let me tell you what I think, Tsuna." Before his misguided compassion and kindness could lead to the death of them all, even if those were the traits that old Timoteo had hoped to introduce to the famiglia. "I think that you need to calm down and look at the situation logically. We know that Tsubaki was an ally of Vongola for several years, up until the point she killed your future self and defected to the Millefiore. We also know that she played some role in forming the Gesso-Giglio Nero alliance. Furthermore, we even know that she is the reason why CEDEF has gone silent. Can you honestly look at these actions and tell me she is not an enemy?"_

_Tsuna bit his lip, but his eyes–_

_Firm. Resolute. Unyielding._

… _How foolish._

"_The Tsubaki I know," the young brunet said, enunciating each word slowly and clearly, "Is not an enemy."_

_Reborn merely shook his head._

"_Perhaps." He allowed, "Perhaps it was some event in the future that led to her betrayal, an event that hasn't happened yet. Perhaps the Tsubaki from ten years ago isn't an enemy, and this is all just another act of hers. But can you prove it to me, Tsuna?"_

…

…

…

"… _Go back to sleep, Tsuna. You still have training with Hibari tomorrow morning. You too, Gokudera, Yamamoto–" Reborn raised his voice so that it carried to the door of the room. "None of you three should be up and about at this hour."_

_And as the three boys –one distressed and two guilty-faced– trudged back to their room, Reborn turned around and addressed the empty corridor in the opposite direction._

"_Is there anything you would like to add, Hibari?"_

…

_Silence was the only answer that greeted him._

…

* * *

_Re: Your Trial (x4)_

_Hi! This is a message from Gate, sent to inform you that…_

I deleted the random message, pursing my lips. Now this was really getting a little ridiculous–

"You don't look very happy, little lady." A voice called out from behind me, and I turned to see a guitarist leaning against the stone stairway of the building.

"I'm not," I replied shortly.

The white-haired man smiled.

"Then how about I play a song for you while you wait for your bus to Namimori to come?"

"… Is this a ploy for me to throw some spare change into that empty guitar case you have out?" I asked archly, and the guitarist laughed. It was… a strangely pitying laugh.

Was he pitying me?

(Since when did I have any use for pity?)

"Keep your money, little lady." He hummed, beginning to strum the first notes of a new song. A small tilt of his head, and the sunlight glanced off the rim of his glasses as he glanced in my direction, covering the shade of his eyes so all I could see was white. "A guitar is no grand piano, but it can carry a tune all the same. And it's the melody of a song that makes a musician happy. Do you know what will make _you_ happy?"

"I–"

"It's not good to be so sad all the time," he shook his head, "Sad people often don't perform as well as happy people. Don't you want to be happy, little lady?"

* * *

"_Sir?"_

_Shouichi swept across the floors, the white cape on his shoulders billowing out behind him as he took long strides towards the center of the room. He felt sick –his stomach was all knotted together and he felt as if he was going to–_

"_Attention!" He called out somewhat-authoritatively. At least it seemed to work out better than he'd expected; all the men in the room immediately jumped to salute him. "We will be commencing the attack on the Vongola base as soon as all units are in position. What is the current status?"_

"_75% of the troops have already reached the destination." One of the men reported, "The rest should be arriving within the next five minutes or so. They have been destroying all surveillance devices en route as per ordered."_

"_Good." Honestly? It was anything _but _good. But Shouichi had a role to play –Tsuna was counting on him for this; everyone was counting on him for this, he couldn't afford to mess up at this point… oh, his stomach was hurting so badly– "We will proceed as planned as soon as everyone has arrived at the designated location."_

"_85% are now present, sir." One of his Cervello aides spoke, and he nodded._

… _Had Mukuro gotten the plans to Hibari on time? He hoped Mukuro was alright; Byakuran had acted earlier than expected–_

"_90% have arrived, sir."_

…

"_95% are now present, sir."_

…

"_100%. All troops are now accounted for, sir. We await your orders."_

…

_(Please.)_

_(Please, please… please be alright, everyone.)_

_(Just as you are all counting on me, I am counting on you, too.)_

…

_He sucked in a deep breath._

"_Begin operation!"_

* * *

An explosion rocked the city, and I was off in an instant, feet barely grazing the ground as I sprinted towards the source.

_Am I too late?_

A constant worry that had hung in the back of my mind these last few days; a worry-fear-nightmare that may very well have turned into reality at this point.

It had taken longer than expected to gather the… materials I needed. Three D-class rings and two C-class rings weren't exactly the best of equipment to be working with, but luckily I had the control required to make maximum benefit of whatever ring I was given to work with –there was no time to hunt down a B-class or A-class; besides, I had no doubt that B- and A-class rings would be tracked and taken note of–

_There._

_There it is._

_Flames burning brightly–_

… _Cloud flames?_

I skidded to a stop in front of the pit that looked like it had been forcibly made on the ground –explosives, perhaps? It was in a spacious area, an abandoned lot of some sort. I leaned over, peering inside, and–

Kyoya.

Kyoya.

_Kyoya._

…

_Ten years older and as vicious as a demon, completely unperturbed at being horribly outnumbered by the opponents swarming him from all directions–_

And for a moment, another image overlaid my eyes.

… _A Kyoya who died as he had lived, fighting and taking down an entire legion of monsters with him…_

My body was moving before my mind had registered myself moving, reaching into my pocket and taking out one of the several weapon boxes that I had so painstakingly hunted down.

A crackle of flames burst to life on two of the D-class rings I'd gotten, and I carefully fed the flames into the box.

It took time to become attuned to one's weapons, but time was not a luxury I could afford to have–

The box burst open, and–

_Bang. Bang. Bang._

I raised the gun in my left hand, barely bothering to stop and aim before pulling the trigger on the flame-weapon and shooting, watching Gesso –_Millefiore–_ soldiers drop like flies under the bullets composed entirely of my flames. In some ways, using a gun felt even more comfortable to me than swinging the sword hanging at my side –after all, several lifetimes of repetitions was a surefire way to become proficient at wielding a particular weapon–

"Someone else is here!"

How very astute an observation that was. Looks like the Millefiore had finally taken notice of another enemy they had to face.

Kyoya glanced upwards –there was no way I couldn't recognize that look of annoyance in his eyes, at someone else interfering in what he saw as _his _hunt–

I blinked.

–was that… a look of… something akin to… relief?

…

_No time to think on it._

I let out a small hiss, swearing under my breath as the gun in my hands shattered, shards of hot metal gouging into my left palm and drawing blood.

… Guess I still hadn't quite adjusted to fighting with box weapons and rings yet, overloading it with flames. Damn it, of only there had been more time, if I didn't have to settle for low-class weapons–

The section of the Cloud-iron bars under my feet flickered, twisting and retreating so that there was a small hole –enough for a single person to slip through.

And as I fell into the middle of the melee, using my other hand to draw my blade–

"You're late," Kyoya informed me matter-of-factly. He turned, smashing another of the white-clad soldiers in the face with his steel tonfas, knocking the man off his feet before I could do anything more than gape at him –after being treated with nothing but hostility for so long, I wasn't–

A man yelled as he charged at me, and my sword neatly bit into his torso –loping his head off on an afterthought.

"Catch."

(Why was he so blasé about my appearance? Didn't… didn't Vongola regard me as an enemy…?)

I snatched the small box out of the air, spinning on my heel and skewering another man through the throat.

"Kyo–… I… I, Hiba–"

"You think too much." A single kick, and a Millefiore soldier was hurled in my direction from Kyoya's side of the field. I swung my sword upwards in a wide cutting arc, and blood splattered everywhere.

Messy.

Messy, messy.

Kyoya's eyes gleamed as he bared a bloodthirsty smirk at me, edged with approval at the brutal execution.

"Do try and keep up, if you can. This will be your training session."

"I –_what?"_

It wouldn't be far off the mark to say I was completely mystified by this turn of events –"'You're late,'" "'Try and keep up,'" "'Training session?'"– but, as thrown for a loop as I was, I couldn't help but feel so _relieved_ by how unquestioningly Kyoya accepted me.

Relief.

Such a foreign-familiar emotion.

(For the first in a long time, even amidst all the death and blood scattered in front of my eyes, I finally began to hope.)

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

OMG! SUPER FAST UPDATE! WOWZA! WTF JUST HAPPENED? WEREN'T THEM CRAZY FAST SUMMER UPDATES OVER AND DONE WITH?

… Mm'kay, I didn't mention this last chapter since I wanted to see if I could get this out on time but didn't want to disappoint anyone if I couldn't, and turns out I could! :D So (ahem):

_**HAPPY BIRTHDAY XXZUIYUN!**_

XxZuiyun had snippets of this chapter written out and sent to me already along with the parts from the last chapter, so I worked on this like a madman and added in the segments I was supposed to write, and did another once-over just before posting. :3 Still, tell me of any mistakes you see, please?

Um. Er.

Onto the story notes!

… And so the attack on Melone base begins? xD

There are several snippets from other characters' POVs here, since we wanted to cover the general idea of what was going on/give a chronological order to the story before jumping straight into the Melone base thing. Pretty condensed stuff in this chapter, hope it made still made sense? Tried interspersing Tsubaki's travels with what was going on in Namimori, but let us know if you found it way too confusing to follow.

Next chapter will be the Melone base raid. Maybe we'll be able to reach Shouichi, yeah? I'm really looking forward to writing that part. :D

Also, please feel free to continue suggesting box animals! :3 Probably going to be 'revealed' next chapter or at least sometime soon… (… after the final decision is made… = w=)

Just to clarify for the chapter titles, they are all numbered according to story arcs. ;) First arc of this story was entitled "Reset, Restart, Replay" and covered part of the Mukuro arc and included the Varia arc. The numbering corresponds to that, "Arc:Chapter." (Ex. first chapter is 01: 1). Now we're getting into the second arc, "Apocalyptic World." Numbering of the chapter for this arc will always be 02: Chapter Number.

**QUESTION (1): **Answer to this will be officially announced soon, so this is the last time it will be asked. What do you think is Tsubaki's flame affinity?

(Several people have already guessed it by now, actually. xD)

**QUESTION(2): **What might the weird spam messages be about? ;3 Haha, kinda obvious… ish… maybe…?

Till next time then, everyone. :3

-XxZuiliu


	17. 02: 3 Late is Better than Never

_It was only after splitting up that things had truly gone to hell in a handbasket._

_Tsuna twisted, ducking under the pillar of flames that sprouted from the Mosca robot's palms. The searing heat that bloomed under his back was close –way too close; if he had been even a second later in dodging–_

"_Not bad, Vongola."_

… _In retrospect, perhaps this was also a blessing in disguise. Even though his opponent was monstrously strong, it was a machine. Not human._

_(He didn't know if he could ever bring himself to kill someone, not like–)_

_Sky flames swirled around his fists as he delivered another blow to the Mosca, knocking it under the waters again._

_Were the others alright? He didn't know. The question was gnawing away at him –certainly, he had faith in Gokudera and Yamamoto; Ryohei was strong as well… but Lal had been severely injured in her battle with the 'Magician Doll.'_

_Tsuna readied his fists as the Mosca surfaced from the waters again, completely unscathed._

_Stall._

_He was acting as a decoy, stalling for time here. He would do his job –in order that the others might succeed; and maybe –just maybe– they would find the way to return to the past again._

_He had to believe in them, just as they believed in him._

_The Mosca closed in on him, and he reached for its flames._

_"Zero Point Breakthrough," the brunet whispered, feeling the flames bleed out under his fingertips, and_–__

_The world shivered as it froze, encased under a layer of burning ice._

* * *

"_Monster."_

I didn't even bat an eye at the sight of the terrified man scrambling away from me, the word falling from his blood-flecked mouth in a pained gasp. Instead, I let my mouth curve into a cold smile.

"If I'm a monster, then what are you?" I inquired neutrally, before leaning forward and cutting off his head.

To the side, Kyoya downed his last opponent with a fierce blow to the side of his temple with the Cloud-tinged tonfas in his hands. The man collapsed gracelessly, not unlike a puppet with its strings cut as he crumpled.

Blood tripped from the ends of the steel weapons, and Kyoya gave a careless flick of his wrist. Crimson droplets splattered to the ground at his feet from the movement. "… Herbivores, the lot of them."

I wiped my blade on the unmoving body of the Millefiore soldier before me in a similar manner, painting scarlet streaks onto the white uniform as I cleaned the edge of the sword, before I slipped it back into the sheath hanging by my side.

When I turned around, Kyoya was looking at me with an undecipherable look in his eyes.

"… What's going on?" I decided to start with the blunt, obvious questions. The ones which were easiest to answer. "Is the Ges –is the Millefiore attacking elsewhere, too?"

"No," his answer was short and succinct. Kyoya straightened from where he had been in the process of taking a Cloud ring from another still, unmoving corpse. "But we are."

I binked, thrown for a loop by his response.

"Sawada and the others have already left for Melone base." He turned and began walking away, and I instinctively fell into step beside him. "We will be following shortly. Do you know where the Underground Shopping Center is?"

Namimori Underground Shopping Center. Of course I knew where it was, and I nodded my assent.

"Then go." A single phrase that carried a command, an order. "Find Irie."

I glanced towards him again, only to see that he had fixed his gaze firmly ahead.

"What about you?" I asked quietly.

"Tetsu is waiting." A burst of purple Cloud flames, and the tonfas disappeared from his hands. Kyoya stowed the box away in the folds of his coat. "Leave, Tsubaki. The others are not aware of your allegiances yet, but we do not have the time to sort it out here."

It's hard to describe the feeling in my chest upon hearing those words. _Your allegiances._ The fact that Kyoya had readily accepted my presence here, that he had automatically treated me as an ally even in the midst of combat–

I ran my fingers over the small box in my hands, the one he had given me earlier.

_I trust you._

Unspoken, always.

(But Kyoya had always been like that, hadn't he?)

"I… I'll ask you about all of this later then. About what happened in this future, if they all think I'm…" I couldn't finish the words. Instead, I slipped the box weapon into my pocket. "… Thank you, Kyoya."

…

…

…

(It would only be in the aftermath of the Melone raid that I would realize the meaning behind the wry smirk that had slipped over his lips for a quicksilver moment at those words.)

* * *

"_Commander Irie, we have completed the preparations for this as per your instructions. We await further orders."_

_The redhead easily strode through the tall doors that had opened at his presence, staunchly ignoring the stomachache turning somersaults in his midsection._

"_That will be all," he nodded to the Cervello women flanking his sides. "I'll be taking over from here."_

_He also purposely ignored the soft gasp at those words. Even within the Millefiore, 'Irie Shouichi' was not a name one would equate with 'front-line combat.'_

_(Good thing he wasn't going to be fighting, then. Most days, it still felt as if he couldn't throw a punch to save his life.)_

"_Commander Irie–"_

_Shouichi reached out a hand, silencing them with the Sun flames bursting from the Mare Ring he wore._

"_Members of the Black Spell and White Spell alike have questioned the strange structure of the Melone base before," he commented offhandedly, tongue dry as he struggled to keep his expression calm. To not let them noticed that there was anything wrong. "There is a reason behind it."_

_The glittering Sun flames flared twice, higher and brighter with each fluctuation._

"_C-Commander–"_

_The room trembled and shook. It was not the only one to do so._

_Surreptitiously, Shouichi shifted the block that Gamma was in to match with the one Gokudera and Ryohei had just ran into, switching it with the area Genkishi was waiting in so that Yamamoto would encounter the Phantom Knight instead. Lal was currently unconscious; hopefully Genkishi would write her off as worthless and ignore her completely…_

_(Originally, the plan had called for Yamamoto to train his sword skills with Tsubaki. But then Hibari had returned late and Tsubaki had up and disappeared, so that plan had been immediately discarded. Reborn was an excellent tutor, but he wasn't a swordsman –deflecting bullets as part of a training regimen was all well and good, but deflecting lightning-imbued strikes was a different story altogether. Gokudera was mid-range fighter; he would be able to counter Gamma much better than Yamamoto would be able to at this point. Plus, Ryohei was with him…)_

_The redhead glanced at the Cervello duo from the corner of his eye. They were preoccupied with tracking the changes he was making to the layout of the base in the western section–_

_A twitch of the finger, and he set Hibari's group on course for heading towards Yamamoto._

_(There. That should do it for now.)_

_He turned his attention towards Tsuna and–_

"_Yo, boss." Iris' profile appeared in the center of the screen, a casual smile curving over her lips. "Guess what I found?"_

_Tsuna._

_Tsuna, and Spanner –the blond mechanic was working on something in the background? Something for… Tsuna?_

"_Turns out dear Spanner is a traitor. He's been hiding the Vongola Decimo in his cabin." She gave a helpless little shrug. "What are your orders regarding him?"_

_Crap._

_Not enough time._

"_Spanner…" Stall, stall, stall! He heaved a sigh and looked downwards. "Looks like I didn't know him as well as I thought I did. I had thought, what with him being a fellow engineer, that he would be trustworthy, even if he was one of the Black Spell…"_

"_It's always the quiet ones, boss. So, your orders?"_

_He chanced a glance towards Spanner again. The tension furrowing the blond mechanic's brows had eased out somewhat –if he was working on something for Tsuna, if he seemed confident now that he could finish it–_

"_Boss?"_

_No more time._

"_I thought it would be obvious, Iris." He made an effort to keep his voice placid. "The Millefiore does not tolerate traitors."_

_The woman's smile morphed into a vicious grin._

"_I hear you loud and clear, boss. Execution, isn't it?"_

_Shouichi forced himself to nod._

"_Kill them," he said tonelessly. "Neither of them are allowed to escape."_

"_Gotcha~"_

_He exhaled lowly. Hopefully, he had gotten enough time for Spanner to finish whatever-it-was that he was making for Tsuna. And hopefully Tsuna had recovered enough from fighting Spanner's Moscas to take on Iris. Ginger was also in that area…_

…

'_Have faith in us, Shouichi.'_

… _Hopefully, hopefully everything would turn out alright. The alternative didn't even bear thinking about._

* * *

"_Find Shouichi."_

Shouichi. Irie Shouichi.

_Commander_ Irie Shouichi, the man who had been placed in control of the Melone base by Byakuran himself. A Melone base which happened to be _mobile_ –the blueprints that I had stolen from the soldiers earlier was probably useless by this point. Had Kyoya known about this? He certainly hadn't mentioned it earlier before we separated.

More importantly–

"_Sawada and the others have already left for Melone base."_

Tsuna.

Tsuna, Hayato, Takeshi –maybe even Ryohei and Chrome, Kyoya for sure– they were somewhere in here, fighting.

… _But how to find them?_

I pressed myself against the wall, hearing footsteps echo down the hall in front of me. It had been easier than expected to enter the Melone base undetected, but navigating around it was much more difficult to do so.

"–ready? Alright, move out! Gamma should have already subdued the Vongola Sun and Storm Guardians, and we'll be there to pick up the pieces. Still, proceed with caution!"

Ryohei. Hayato.

(… They had separated into different groups, then? Understandable, if they wanted to cover a larger area –but still, what was the goal of their raid? Kyoya had simply told me to 'find Shouichi,' but I doubted that it was the same goals that Tsuna and the others had in mind upon storming this place.)

I waited until the stream of white-clad soldiers had passed before slipping out of my hide-hole and following them.

_Please be alright, everyone. I'm sorry I wasn't here before, I'm sorry for what my future-self did –but I promise; I will do everything in my power to protect you._

_Promise._

_I promise._

_I promise that I will protect you._

* * *

_…_

_"B-Bastard…"_

_Gokudera twitched, trying to clamber to his feet again. He failed miserably. A few feet away, Gamma lay unconscious on the ground –as did the adult version of Turf-top._

_He growled; a frustrated sound in the back of his throat. How the hell were they supposed to get anywhere if he couldn't even move anymore? Juudaime was counting on them for this, damn it all!_

_An erratic convulsion twisted his body, and he grimaced at the pain. Looks like the shields of Sistema CAI hadn't been enough to block all the electricity the other man had been throwing about like nobody's business earlier_…__

_"_…here! They're here, I see them!"__

_Voices._

_Unfamiliar voices._

_Millefiore._

_For a moment, his mind was gripped by panic as he saw the soldiers appear in the doorway. He couldn't move. Turf-top was unconscious. Both of them were completely, horribly vulnerable. If the soldiers decided to kill them here and now, none of them would be able to even offer up a single token of resistance._

_… Fuck._

___Was this how it was going to end, then? Alone and outnumbered, dying a useless, hopeless death___…______

_Storm flames flickered weakly on the Vongola Ring on his fingers, and he bit his tongue to hold back from cursing. The flames were still much to weak to open a box. Any box, really._

_Fuck._

**_Fuck._**

_"Alright, follow the procedures! Squad One, enter and_–_"_

_The voice disappeared in a wet gurgle._

___What happened next before his eyes was nothing short of terrifying ____–that is, if Gokudera hadn't grown up living and breathing in a world of murderers. A black blur, accompanied by the telltale crackle of flames not unlike Gamma had been, followed by a ribbon of ruby-red blood splattering over the soldiers in white. It lasted both forever into an eternity and nothing more than a split second as the soldiers crumpled and fell._______

_One man cradled his severed head in his arms before he was knocked back by another who had a gaping hole in his throat._

_______The black blur stumbled to an abrupt stop next to the doorway, revealing itself as a mop of raven hair, inky eyes_______–______________

_Tsubaki tiredly raised her head and smiled weakly._

_______"Five squads. None of them will be reporting back anymore. Are you alright, Ha_______– Gokudera?"______________

_He pretended not to notice the slip-up, focusing instead on the way the bloody creature took a hesitant step forward towards him, no doubt recalling their last conversation._

_Truth be told, he wasn't quite sure how to react to her, either._

______________"The fuck are you doing here?" He muttered as she cautiously crept towards him _______–slow, steady, movements clear and in sight so as to put him at ease. Not that it was very effective, given her most recent display of brutality. (A darker corner of his mind wholeheartedly agreed that those Millefiore scum fully deserved what they had gotten, though another part was appalled at how easily she killed them _______–slaughtered them, as if they were nothing more than cattle to her.)____________________________

_His eyes lingered for a moment on the bandages wrapped along the length of an entire arm, recalling what the older baseball idiot had done with his sword. She noticed the direction of his gaze and offered another small smile._

_"It doesn't hurt that much anymore."_

_Liar._

_As if he couldn't see the red tinge spreading under the cloth._

____________________________Gokudera gave a small grunt as she crouched down by his side, reaching out a hand towards him_______–___________________________________

_"Don't," he gritted his teeth, voice clipped and terse. Temporary ally. For now, he would think of her as a temporary ally. Where in the world had she suddenly sprouted from, anyways? "Lightning flames. If you touch me, the lightning will_______–_______"_

_"It won't."_

_Green lightning flames crackled down her hand as her fingertips brushed his body, and the raven-haired girl slammed her other palm onto the ground, dispersing the current not unlike what the idiot cow's twenty-year-old-self had done what seemed like a lifetime ago._

_"There. It should be a little better now." She stood up again. Without the Lightning flames numbing and paralyzing his body, Gokudera managed to finally stagger to his feet again. "Where's Sasagawa?"_

____________________________"___… Over there," he jerked his head. "He's unconscious."_______________________________

_"Unconscious. Brilliant." She muttered to herself, sighing. The girl reached into the folds of her leather jacket and pulled out a small bottle of pills, popping one into her mouth and grimacing as she swallowed it dry. "Stay. I'll get him. Can you walk? I'm afraid I have no idea where we're supposed to go, so if you need me to support you, you're going to have to give me directions."_

_'We?'_

_______________________________"Why are you here?" Juudaime trusted her. And that day, when he had looked into her eyes and seen that willingness to die___… Gokudera didn't __________________________________trust_ her, he would never trust an assassin___… but he had no other choice than trusting her in this situation. There was something___… off about Tsubaki, even in comparison to other assassins.______  
_

_He intended to find out what she was planning. No assassin helped others from the goodness of their hearts._

_______________________________________"I'm here___…" she gave a helpless little shrug. "I'm here to find answers, I suppose."__________________________________________

_Answers to what, though?_

_He asked, and the edge of her lips twitched into another smile._

_"Answers to the same questions you have, and more. There must be a reason why we're here in this future, right?"_

_This war-torn future ruled by the Millefiore._

__________________________________________There is a saying: The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Tsubaki wasn't a friend, but he supposed he could___… tolerate her as a temporary ally, until they discovered her motives. Judging by how she had shown no hesitation in attacking the Millefiore, though, it was safe to assume that she was not on their side___…________________________________________________

_For now, that would have to be enough._

_…_

* * *

"Left."

Obligingly, I stepped into the left corridor.

"The lab is full of delicate equipment, I doubt the Millefiore bastards would risk moving a room like that." Hayato mumbled under his breath. Carrying Ryohei along was difficult –this body was built for speed, not for strength. Added to the fact that this was _adult_ Ryohei and not the younger Ryohei that I had expected_–_

"Oi, you listening?"

"Of course I am," I blinked innocently back at Hayato, who was determinedly limping along by using the walls to keep himself upright. "You mentioned the labs probably being in the same place. And also that, judging by the movement of the boxes and the layout of the building that you memorized, Yamamoto is most likely_–"_

_Hurry._

I leaped forward with a sudden swirl of flames enhancing my movements, knocking Hayato down and rolling to the side, keeping a death grip on Ryohei. It was a testament to how much damage he must've sustained while fighting Gamma that the boxer didn't even so much as twitch from the impacts_–_

_"What the hell is this?"_

"No idea," I breathed back dazedly, clambering to my feet and throwing one of Hayato's arms around my neck, ignoring his protests and _running._ The iron spikes that had spontaneously broken through the sides of the _steel_ walls were only continuing to grow, larger and larger and_–_

… _Wait. I… I recognize this. Isn't this the hedgehog box that Kyoya had been using earlier?_

Hayato swore as one of the spikes grazed his side, and I muttered a quick apology to him. We were rapidly running out of space to run; the spikes were appearing _everywhere._ Was Kyoya really behind this? Why would he try using the hedgehog box weapon to destroy the base? He wasn't this reckless; something like this didn't seem like a tactic he would use.

But what else could explain the metal spikes protruding everywhere, multiplying in number every time I turned around?

I let out an explosive exhale as we stumbled into a dead end. The expletives that Hayato let out were enough to make a sailor blush, but I didn't allow myself time to dwell on it.

Instead, I dropped them on the ground, spinning on my heel and lighting all the remaining rings I had as I brought out the small green box Kyoya had given me.

Foxes. Twin foxes. I would use their flames to erect a barrier and_–_

…

…

…

I stared blankly. I couldn't help it; my box had always, always been…

…

_… What in the world…?_

"What in the world are you just standing there for if you've got a box animal out?" Hayato hissed at me, fingers digging sharply into my shoulder as he laboriously hauled himself upright again. "Do you _want_ to die?"

The black vulture that had alighted on my wrist gave me an equally baleful look.

For a moment, I was at a complete loss as to what to do. How does one even go about using a bird to create a barrier? I had only ever used Colulu and Widget, the twin foxes, as my box animal. To compensate for a change like this felt_–_

The vulture let out a raspy hiss and launched itself into the air.

Lightning flames trailed behind the large black bird as it streaked in front of us, drawing out a glowing barrier in the path it flew. It took me a moment to catch on to what it was doing and add my own flames to strengthen the barrier _–_a moment later, and Hayato strode up next to me and added his own tendril of Lightning flames to the mix_–_

The Cloud-spikes ground to a screeching halt against the hastily-erected barrier.

"Any other bright ideas?" I tossed to the silver-haired teen as the vulture swooped back to me. "If those spikes are still growing, this barrier isn't going to last forever."

_"I know,"_ Hayato scowled. "Shit. Which bastard is behind this, anyways?"

I wisely opted for not responding to that question, knowing that the answer wouldn't be appreciated.

* * *

_Shouichi was caught between laughing and crying._

_Hibari. This was Hibari's fault. Just a single glance, and he could already tell that this was the temperamental Cloud Guardian's fault. Ten years younger and much less aware of his own strength…he still had nightmares from the first time Hibari had tested out his box weapon. Oh yes, this was _definitely_ Hibari's doing._

_"It appears that the hedgehog box has gone out of control, Commander Irie." There was a quiver in the Cervello's voice as she spoke. "It's still growing."_

_No kidding, he wanted to snap at her, and bit his tongue in an effort to remain silent. He very nearly did bite through his tongue as the metal spikes reached the lab itself, but ended up heaving a sigh of relief instead as the box weapon stopped just short of skewering into the room._

_Thank goodness for small mercies._

_"We've found the Vongola Sun and Storm Guardians again, Commander Irie." The other Cervello woman reported. "The squads that were dispatched to retrieve them are dead. Both have escaped to corridor 3-EC, and there appears to be someone else with them…"_

_"Someone else?" Kusakabe, perhaps…? No, Kusakabe and Chrome had been with Hibari, as had the children they had brought along with them. Five entire squads, eliminated? There shouldn't have been any complications, not with…  
_

_…_

_Oh._

_"Commander Irie?"_

_Raven hair, raven eyes. A black vulture perched upon her shoulder._

_For a moment, relief coursed through his body _–so Tsubaki had made it here after all. He had been worried, when she had gone off on her own and separated from them_…___

__"Release the sleeping gas," he ordered. Both groups were trapped in a dead end, and though the Lightning-barrier was impressive, it only blocked off one side of the corridor _–the gas could simply be inserted from the other side. "Wait a few minutes for it to take effect, then send in the troops to bring them back. Where is the Vongola Decimo?"___

___The Cervello aide glanced down at her screen.___

___"He is rapidly approaching us. It seems that Genkishi has gone to intercept him, though."___

___Shouichi nodded.___

___"Good. This means___… that everything has gone according to plan."______

_________…_________

______(Just a little bit further.______

______Just a little bit further, and we will have taken the first step to success.______

______Byakuran must not be allowed to complete the Tri-ni-sette again.)______

* * *

.

...

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

… Next chapter will have Byakuran showing up and Shouichi explaining everything. Anyone looking forward to it? ;3

So, using a lot of other POVs in the story again. In our defense, there are a lot of things going on practically everywhere during the Melone raid. xD

Aaaaand Tsubaki's animal is a black vulture. Credits to **Gin Nanashi** for the suggestion. (Throws confetti) :D

Also, I've posted a **new story**! It's my first _non-OC-centric one_, titled _**Incandescent**__._ Check it out if you're interested? :3 It's a crossover of KHR with Tokyo Ghoul, Tsuna-centric. I know not many people have read/watched Tokyo Ghoul before, so I've done my best to keep that in mind while writing _Incandescent_ –sometimes I read fanfics without having read the original story, and I figured that others might appreciate the effort. xD

(Originally, I was working on _Memento Mori,_ but then I got sidetracked, which resulted in _Incandescent_… :3)

**QUESTION(1): **Just checking in here. Are any characters OOC to the point of not even remotely resembling their original canon personalities anymore?

**QUESTION(2):** What do you think Shouichi might have to say about Tsubaki in the next chapter? :D Anything you'd like him (or Byakuran, maybe) to address?

Please remember to point out any grammar mistakes and the like that you find in the text here. Till next time~

-XxZuiliu


	18. 02: 4 Discovering the Plan

(Marble floors reflecting everything and nothing all at once; seemingly glass-like, yet showing nothing in its wake. Pristine pillars of cold stone leaping high into the air, twisting and winding upwards into tall, solemn archways.

A white room.

…

… A familiar white room. What's going on?)

_Where are you going, sister?_

(A voice? No, no… it can't be. There is nothing here in this dizzyingly white room. There's nothing. I _know_ there's nothing here. Nothing but the set of doors standing at opposing ends; gold and silver doors facing each other at this crossroad for an eternity and more.

So… why is there a voice here?)

_We've been looking for you, sister. Waiting for you. Why haven't you come back to us yet? Why haven't you responded at all? There's no need to torture yourself like this anymore._

(… What?)

_Come home, sister. Come home._

_It's over._

_Everything is over now. You can finally rest, dearest sister._

_The verdict has been reached._

_Your Trial is–_

* * *

Waking up was a thoroughly uncomfortable experience; if nothing else, then for the painful sensation of having a pile of bricks dropped on my stomach. Or as the case may be, having a certain child dressed in a cow-print suit crash-land on my abdomen after charging and failing to get out of the glass contraption that we were trapped in.

"The Great Lambo wants out!" The child wailed. Loudly.

"Behave yourselves, please." This voice… it was…? "I would prefer to speak in a calm and civilized manner with you all."

Shouichi.

Shouichi, who was… decked out in the full regalia of a Millefiore captain. White Spell. Millefiore White Spell. Byakuran's trusted subordinate.

_But it's Shouichi. _Shouichi.

(Shouichi wouldn't…)

The redhead held up the remote control device in his hands.

"See this? If I press this button, then it will release a toxic agent into the tube –a highly venomous poison that will cause death within a single minute. So I advise you to listen to what I have to say, Vongola Decimo."

Dull, monotone voice. But something was… _off,_ something stiff and… _forced._

(Was this really Shouichi speaking here?)

"Just destroy the round machine, Sawada! If you do, we will–"

"How naïve," Shouichi laughed coldly, and I frowned. "Do you think it will really change anything? If you attempt to destroy it, you yourselves would be the only ones inconvenienced by this, because…"

I turned my attention along with the others toward the white device embedded into the wall behind us, where Shouichi made a vague gesture with his hand and let the topmost layers of the contraption slide open–

_What the hell is this?_

I very nearly bit my tongue.

"Your future selves, the ones you switched with upon being called into this time. What you see right now is a projection of them –they've been disassembled and stored in a molecular state inside that machine." Shouichi explained succinctly. "Destroy the machine, and it will be the same as killing your future selves. Would you really want something like that to happen?"

"Then… _you're_ the one who brought us here into the future?" Tsuna's voice was shaky and dazed, and part of me wanted to use my flames to just _break through this cage and–_

…

Crap.

… Poison, most likely. Some sort of flame-suppressant –I could _feel_ my flames, but they were… numbed, disconnected–

_Not good._

"Yes, I am." Shouichi nodded calmly. "For Byakuran. The Vongola Rings were destroyed in this future –in order for him to complete the Tri-ni-sette, we need all seven of the Vongola Rings, complete and whole. So we devised this plan to bring your past selves –_you_– here, into our present. So that you would bring the Vongola Rings with you, and now we will take them."

"But why…?"

"The Vongola Rings are an important factor of the Tri-ni-sette, the very foundation and cornerstone of this world." Shouichi smiled humorlessly. "Of course, you are free to doubt my words regarding this. The Arcobaleno would know better –after all, they died in a futile attempt to protect the Tri-ni-sette from Byakuran."

A heartbeat of silence.

"Hand over the Vongola Sky Ring, Sawada Tsunayoshi." The redhead commanded authoritatively. "Otherwise, your friends' lives will be forfeit. What will your choice be?"

At this ultimatum, there was absolute pandemonium.

Hayato threw himself against the glass barrier, yelling for Tsuna to forget about us and do what needed to be done. Lal was only a heartbeat behind him in mirroring his actions to a lesser extent, and Tetsuya seemed grim. Lambo and I-pin were still too young to understand what was going on, but even they somehow seemed aware of the gravity of the situation –and as the Cervello women stepped forward and began the countdown, raising the remote controller that would release our death sentence–

_Bang. Bang._

…

"C-Commander… I… ri… e…?"

A soft thump, followed by another. The pink-haired Cervello crumpled to the ground one by one.

_Sedatives._

_…_

"Ah… such a relief…"

There. The coldness, the indifference –it was slipping away, bit by bit. Shouichi ran a haggard hand through his hair, rumpling it from its immaculate form, and shrugged off the Millefiore cloak.

"Argh… I _hate_ acting, I'm no good at it… ah, I'm so nervous; I think my knees are shaking…"

A final thump, and Shouichi collapsed on the ground as well. He quickly glanced up towards us, a small, hesitant smile spreading across his lips.

"You've all done well in getting this far. I've been waiting for you. After all, I'm… your ally."

…

It's hard, describing how I feel. I've always had my doubts of _Shouichi_ actually being on Byakuran's side –I _knew_ him; Shouichi wasn't someone who would approve of that monster's actions. But ever since arriving in this future, from the first moment I opened my eyes in this world –being injured by Takeshi, having to fight Nosaru and Tazaru, learning that the Giglio Nero was also the enemy in this chaotic future…

For a moment, I doubted. I doubted everything I knew about the red-haired man.

I truly doubted that Shouichi was what he appeared to be at the moment; that perhaps, Byakuran had somehow convinced him as thoroughly as he did Genkishi that time when–

No.

(It wouldn't make sense, then.)

If Shouichi had truly been on Byakuran's side –why this entire set-up with the Melone base, luring Tsuna and the others in? Why not just call on the hundreds upon thousands of forces standing at the Millefiore's beck and call to just storm the Vongola base with sheer numbers?

Besides…

Besides, Shouichi had never been a good actor.

…

"Normally, everything I do is under 24-hour surveillance by my subordinates. Plus, the cameras installed everywhere transmit everything directly to Byakuran," the redhead finally started explaining. "Thanks to you guys attacking the base, though, everything is a complete mess right now, and I can finally talk freely without worrying about being discovered. You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this moment… being able to meet you all like this here, under these conditions, was our goal from the very start."

"G-Goal?" Tsuna's expression clearly stated that he had been completely thrown for a loop by this turn of events. Hayato wasn't much better, scowling and snarling _'What the hell?' _under his breath as he glared daggers at the redhead.

Better talk fast, Shouichi.

"I-It's true that the Millefiore wanted to bring you to this future in order to get the Vongola rings, but there's another plan that we devised in secret –a plan with the goal to let you undergo training and become stronger in the shortest amount of time possible. I know a lot of bad things happened, and for that I'm truly sorry, but… this is the only way. This is the only way that you will be prepared for the battle to come."

Battle to come. Instantly, I understood what he was referring to. What else could there be?

_Byakuran._

"What do you mean?" Lal hissed, and Shouichi blanched at the thunderous expression on her face.

"I'm not your enemy!" He insisted, "Look, I'm not–"

"_Fuck you!"_ Hayato roared, hands clawing at the glass barrier that separated us from Tsuna. "Like _hell_ we should believe anything you say if you're the one responsible for all of this! You're the reason why we've had to deal with all this crap in the first place!"

"He's right!"

"Why should we trust you?"

"Who would believe anything _you_ say?!"

"Me."

… I didn't dare look up at any of them as the single word fell from my lips, instead smiling wanly at Shouichi.

"I believe you." I said simply, and watched him visibly sag in relief. "It's not much coming from my mouth, but for what it's worth… I trust you."

The silver-haired bomber whirled on me, eyes flashing with an emotion akin to betrayal.

"Of course _you_ would, you assas–"

"Gokudera, please." I interrupted his angry words, forcing myself to remain still instead of flinching. It took more effort than I thought it would. "If Shouichi wanted you dead, then you'd be dead now. Same goes for me. For all of us. The Millefiore is much larger and stronger than Vongola –they could've sent an army against us, and we never would've stood a chance against their numbers. Or the assault on this base. Shouichi could've moved the rooms of the base much earlier and trapped us all instead of letting us fight our way through. Don't you see by now? This raid, it's… it's a chance to gain experience and grow stonger."

What had Kyoya called it again, when I had fought the Millefiore soldiers with him?

_Training session._

… I think… maybe I was beginning to understand now, to understand this fragile, dangerous game they were playing. If they were trying to pull this over _Byakuran_, and had –by the looks of things now– actually _succeeded…_

"Haven't you ever wondered why you haven't been switched with your future selves all at once? It was planned –so that you'd have someone to guide you in this world." Shouichi's voice was soft, a touch of something hoarse in it as the others fell silent after hearing my words. "Also, if I was only after the Vongola Rings, why in the world would Kyoko, Haru, and I-pin be here? You needed someone to _protect_. In order to become stronger, it was a necessity that we couldn't avoid–"

Bad choice of words.

I realized it an instant before Tsuna stepped forward, grabbing Shouichi and–

"_How can you just decide something like that?!"_ Tsuna. _Tsuna._ The pressure of the battles, the fear, the pain… "What if something really had happened to Kyoko and the others? And even before these battles, even before we started training at the base –_we could've died!"_

"If that's the case…" A small falter, before Shouichi stumbled onwards again. "If that's the case, then it can't be helped."

… That comment was the last straw.

"What the fuck is with that reasoning?!"

"Why the hell–"

"How can you–"

"_I've tried my best to plan this all!"_ Shouichi finally lost it, screaming right back at them. _"If something went wrong with the plan, I'd be in trouble, too! I'd be_ dead! _You guys have _no idea_ just how much is at stake here! Besides –besides, I'm not the only one involved in this plan! Tsuna, this was _your_ future self's idea, too!"_

Silence.

"… This plan…" Shouichi's breath was haggard from all the shouting. "Everything was carried out in the utmost secrecy. No one else knew anything about it. This plan, from beginning to end, was strictly held between myself, your future counterpart, Hibari… and Tsubaki."

…

… What?

…

_They said that you silenced CEDEF. That you betrayed Vongola. That you… killed Tsuna._

_Was it… was it all just an act, then? A part of this "plan?"_

_…_

_(… But why would I ever agree to do something like this?)_

_…_

"That's why Hibari knew about the Millefiore ambush from us. And you –your future self resisted the idea of getting anyone else involved until the very end, when you finally admitted that this would be something your past self needed in order to grow."

"That's a _lie."_ Lal immediately hissed, "Sawada would never–"

"Don't you see?!" Shouichi exploded again, "The fact that he _agreed_ to this just goes to show how bad this entire situation is! The fact that he ordered Tsubaki to _shoot him_ in order for this plan to work is proof enough of how dire and risky it all is! But if we didn't take this gambit, everyone would've been_ annihilated! _The entire _world_ will be in danger! _Byakuran is the enemy that must be defeated!"_

(Byakuran.

Tri-ni-sette.

… It all comes down to Byakuran and the Tri-ni-sette every time, doesn't it?)

"… Would this have anything to do with 'the battle to come' that you mentioned earlier?" Reborn's voice sounded from the far corner –a hologram? Right, with the anti-Tri-ni-sette radiation that Byakuran had employed, there was no way Reborn would actually be–

"Y-Yes." Shouichi nodded shakily.

"I see."

"R-Reborn…?"

"It makes sense," the holographic image of the pseudo-infant shrugged. "His explanations answer the questions I've had about this entire operation –the loopholes, if you will. And all the facts appear to be consistent with what I've… observed so far."

I did my best to ignore how his eyes lingered on me for a moment at the last few words.

"Although, I do have something else to ask," Reborn turned a contemplative look on the redhead. "From what you've said, Byakuran wants the Vongola Rings, correct? If you didn't bring Tsuna and his friends into this future, if you didn't call the Vongola Rings from the past… you would've been able to reduce casualties in the long run by keeping the Vongola Rings out of his reach. Why didn't you?"

"Only for awhile, I might've been able to keep others safe." Shouichi looked wholly miserable. "If I hadn't done this, Byakuran would've found some other way to bring you all into this future, and I would have no way to influence anything at all. Plus… we _need_ you here. The only way to defeat Byakuran and seal his power is to do so in this time era."

…

Seal his power?

_Seal his power?_

Hayato's wary look in my direction was the only sign that alerted me to the fact that my hands had unconsciously tightened into fists –and I quickly forced them to relax, splaying out my fingers across the cold glass instead, limp and lifeless.

_Defeat Byakuran. Seal his power._

(… Is something like that even possible? Gods knew how much I wanted that to happen…)

"Tsubaki knows," Shouichi smiled tiredly at me. Sympathy. Understanding. What had…? "You know what I'm talking about by referring to Byakuran's power, don't you?"

I smiled bitterly.

_Of course._

_Of course I do._

…

* * *

_It's a delicate balance, the Tri-ni-sette._

_(Of fire and of will.)_

_Every living being in this world carries a simple spark within it –the ghostly flicker of a single flame; some learn to coax it into a roaring inferno that leaps from their fingertips at command, while others allow it to bury itself under the flickering embers embedded deep within the core of their very being._

_Life and death; death and life._

_A never-ending dance of luminous flames._

…

_What is the Tri-ni-sette?_

_Balance._

_In order to keep the balance of life in this world; to anchor the souls of the living to their mortal shells, to guide the souls of the dead onwards and beyond until the day comes that they return once more. To guide the capricious flames through wind and river; over mountain and forest –a subtle, quiet, everlasting cycle that repeats itself with the dawn of each new sunrise._

_What is the Tri-ni-sette?_

_Power._

_For the sake of maintaining this precious, delicate balance that spins the thread of life in the fabric of reality. To burn away any and all elements that seek to reduce this world of dancing flame and laughing evergreen into a barren wasteland of frost and rime. To steady the slumbering strength that thrums through the vast potential of each and every child of this earth._

_What is the Tri-ni-sette?_

_Life._

_It is the Tri-ni-sette that breathes life into this world._

…

_(Just as it is the Tri-ni-sette that can take life away.)_

* * *

"… There's something else that I'd appreciate you explaining, if you will."

The others still appeared hesitant to approach Shouichi, but I had no such qualms –Shouichi had never been a particularly good liar– three quick steps, and I was standing in front of him, head tilted upwards, expression unreadable.

(Or at least, I hoped it was.)

Shouichi blnked.

"Y-Yes, Tsubaki?"

"I've…" A brief hesitation, before forging on again. "Ever since I arrived in this future, I've heard… a lot of things. About what my future self did."

I purposely maintained eye contact with him, keenly aware of how the others were not-so-subtly listening in on our conversation.

A simple word falling from my lips.

"Why?"

A single word.

Because _nothing_ could express what I had felt –that abject fear, the turmoil, the self-loathing–

… There it was again in his eyes again, what I had glimpsed before so very fleetingly. That… that _sympathy._

_(Why? Unless my future self had…_

_No._

_No way._

_There's no way something like that is possible._

_I had sworn to myself that never again would I tell–)_

"Because…" Shouichi said slowly, "Because we needed you to be affiliated with the Millefiore, to distract Byakuran. You were the one placed in charge of eliminating CEDEF –had it been someone like Glo Xinia instead, the entirety of CEDEF would be dead rather than disabled. When the… conference between Giglio Nero and Gesso was held, you restrained Gamma and kept Byakuran from killing him. That's why there was no 'purge' of traitors in the Black Spell. And during the negotiations between Vongola and Millefiore… it's true that you were the one who shot the bullet. But did you know? Byakuran stationed five other snipers there that day to shoot Tsuna. And you were the only one who had the stasis bullet loaded in your gun."

"Stasis…?"

"Well, it was still in the testing stages when we gave it for you to use –we didn't have any other choice back then, there was no more time to perfect it. But it was the only chance we had of making sure Tsuna wouldn't actually die in that confrontation."

A small pause on his end, followed by a tired smile.

"He trusted you." His voice was soft, "He trusted that you would react faster than any of the other snipers in obeying Byakuran's signal to shoot him."

Trust?

… The bullet… still in its testing stages. _Not perfected._ A chance of…

…

_He trusted you to kill him._

_…_

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry in light of this new information, and Shouichi must have seen something in my expression –why else would he step forward and–

"It's been hard on you, Tsubaki. I'm sorry. But… we really didn't have any other choice. Otherwise, I don't think Tsuna ever would've asked something like this of you."

A hand, resting gently on my shoulder. A hand that had forcibly stopped itself from drawing me into a hug at the last moment.

But his eyes.

_Sympathy._

_(Pity.)_

…

I didn't know what to say anymore. I didn't know how to act. I didn't know, didn't know…

There was still a slight degree of wariness in Hayato's eyes. Something cautious in Takeshi's gaze. Reborn's eyes were unreadable again. Lal seemed skeptical, as did Tetsuya…

…

_But it's not outright distrust anymore. That's… that's good, isn't it?_

"We've just received a message from the Varia," Reborn suddenly spoke. "They've been successful in their operation as well. Reports say that the Millefiore have retreated."

Shouichi brightened visibly at hearing these words.

"Yes! Th-Then that means we–"

…

Flicker.

A crackle of static.

The screen on the other side of the wall suddenly came to life again, and on it was–

(White hair. Lavender eyes. A careless smile.)

…

I let out a low hiss under my breath, feeling my blood _boil_ at the sight–

And Byakuran simply laughed.

…

"_Oh no. This is far from being over. I do commend you for your effort, though –seeing your pitiful struggles have been extremely entertaining tonight. Thanks to your cozy little operation, you've shown me the true strength of the Varia squad… as well as Shouichi's desperate act of trying to lie to me."_

Three sentences.

Three sentences from the white-haired devil, and the game was changed.

… The odds were against us once more.

"_I have to admit; I'm impressed, Shouichi. I knew you would join forces with the Vongola sooner or later, though I didn't expect it to be in this manner."_

"Y-you mean that you–"

"–_knew this was going to happen all along?"_ The foxlike grin on the monster's face widened. _"Yup, of course I did! You've always looked at my actions with such disapproval, Shouichi. Even with our resident little traitor coaching you how to lie, you were never quite able to hide it entirely. Ah, how are you doing, my favorite assassin?"_

He tossed me a cheerful little wave.

(… The _nerve_ of him to say something like that–!)

"_Haha, you don't look too happy."_ Byakuran propped up his chin in the palm of his hand lackadaisically, his smile never once faltering. _"And here I thought you finally might've seen some sense, maybe. Alas, you've gone and thrown your lot in with the Vongola again… tell me, is it worth it?"_

I glared.

"Any one of them is worth a hundred of you."

(I couldn't bring myself to face their reactions, and so I stared directly at the screen instead.)

"_Oooh, that stings. You break my heart, truly."_ The white-haired monster sing-songed at me teasingly. _"How many times are you going to keep hurting yourself like this? Sooner or later, you're just going to break yourself again. And this time I won't be here to patch you up."_

My eyes narrowed dangerously at him.

(Break? Patch up? What on earth was he rambling on about–)

"_Right, right! Of course you wouldn't remember."_ Byakuran laughed again. _"Sorry, sometimes I get a little mixed up, too! I suppose that's the downside of remembering so many lifetimes, as you would doubtlessly understand. Ah, you go by 'Tsubaki' in this world, don't you? Haha, I still remember when I deliberately picked out that name for you. 'The flower that falls at the height of its splendor' –it suits you very well, doesn't it?"_

My hands fisted and clenched at my sides again.

(What.

Is.

He.

Talking.

About?)

…

_Byakuran lies he is a monster don't believe he is the cause of this he is the root of pain the source of suffering blood regret death never trust his words quickly kill him just kill him kill kill kill–_

"_So scaaary," _a small drawl in his voice as the white-haired man dragged out the word. _"You're no fun, being so serious all the time. It's not like this time is going to be any different, y'know?"_

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

… We'll continue with the rest of Byakuran's dialogue next time. xD

I'm kinda surprised no one has commented on this before. 'Tsubaki' is the name of a_ flower._ Practically all of Byakuran's subordinates have flower names. (I actually thought that was pretty obvious. Or maybe it was obvious to the point of not even worth commenting on?) I know that there are lots of meanings for camellia flowers out there –the one I'm going along with is the one associated with samurai:

_The camellia flower has a short life and falls to the ground entire and whole, often still in full bloom, which is reminiscent of a fallen warrior bravely defending their lord to the bitter end. "Perishing with grace."_ (There was also some other account about red camellia flowers representing decapitated heads somewhere, I think…)

… Byakuran is so mean, telling her that the name suits her. xD

So, small Tri-ni-sette snippet in the middle. I hope it somewhat makes sense? :D I dunno, the manga never really elaborated too much on what the Tri-ni-sette was other than the fact that somehow the entire world hinged on the preservation of the rings/pacifiers, so this is our take on it. :3 A little abstract, but if all goes as planned, there should be more explanation on the concept of the Tri-ni-sette in later chapters.

Also, the brief section at the beginning with some (cough) very familiar (cough) wording (cough) (check out 02:1) (cough). Anyone want to take a guess on what that's about? xD

The Choice battle is coming up soon. Which should be interesting, no? :3

**QUESTION(1):** _Vote!_ Who wants our resident marshmallow maniac to spill all the beans regarding Tsubaki's loops and maybe a few darker bits of the times that nothing ended well for her?

**QUESTION(2):** What do you think Byakuran meant by saying: "_How many times are you going to keep hurting yourself like this? Sooner or later, you're just going to break yourself again. And this time I won't be here to patch you up."_

(Hint for #2: Tsubaki has looped many, _many_ times before. Some loops, she went more than a bit crazy in. She has also asked Mammon at some point about a certain topic…)

…

… Well, till next time, everyone. ;3 Please remember to leave a review on what you think about this chapter!

-XxZuiliu


	19. 02: 5 Monster

_It's not like this time is going to be any different, y'know?_

For a moment, the entire world seemed to stand still.

Those words–

(No matter how hard you try, no matter what you do, there is _nothing_ you can achieve with your power that will ever stop Byakuran from stepping in and just ripping it all away–)

"_Tell me, what does it feel like to stand there as a stranger and an outcast, after all you've done for them?"_ The white-haired monster smiled cheerfully, delicately folding his fingers under his chin and tilting his head to the side. _"They'll never learn to appreciate you, Tsu-ba-ki."_

Irritation. Anger. Hate.

"They don't need to." A harsh note in my voice. I quickly wiped it out and blanked my expression again, refusing to let him have the satisfaction of seeing that his words had gotten under my skin. Byakuran's silver tongue was a deadly poison that he had always wielded with unerring precision. "… It's your fault that everything is like this, anyways."

He arched an eyebrow.

"_My fault, you say?" _Byakuran said in a slow drawl, violet eyes glinting. _"How interesting. How very, very interesting. Is it really my fault that you're never strong enough to stop your little friends from being killed?"_

A stab of pain.

(This time, it wasn't so easily brushed aside.)

Byakuran had always known what words would hurt me most, and he never had any qualms about using them against me. It was a weakness that I was never quite capable of locking away, because… because…

… because it was the _truth;_ if I had succeeded in what I set out to do a long time ago–

…

My lips thinned.

"No. But I do hold you at fault for being the one to kill them."

Byakuran laughed.

"_Ah, and so the game begins again!"_ Glee. An almost maniacal sort of delight, a half-wild light dancing in his eyes. It was an expression that had Tsuna and the others shifting uneasily where they stood, one that even Shouichi tensed up at –yet I remained calm and still in face of this madness, for I had heard this laugh many, many times before.

Byakuran was mad.

He was good at hiding it, good at throwing up a mask of flippant cheer and playfulness, but there was no changing the fact that he was _mad._

(Anyone who had lived through so many lifetimes like he did would be–)

"_Sawada Tsunayoshi." _Tsuna gave a small jerk at being addressed so suddenly by the monster, and Hayato bristled protectively next to him. Byakuran simply smiled. _"In ten days' time, we will set the stage for the new world in an official trial of strength between your Famiglia and mine, with the Tri-ni-sette on the line. Aren't you excited?"_

"Please reconsider your current position, Byakuran." Shouichi stepped up this time, openly drawing Byakuran's attention to him with his words. "You've already sent five of the six Funeral Wreaths out in battle. As of now, you only have two of the Mare Rings left. A bird cannot fly without its wings."

"_Ah, maybe." _Byakuran hummed, before his lips broke out into a sly grin._ "If those wings that you tried to clip from me had been real, that is."_

It shattered.

The Sun Ring on Shouichi's hand abruptly shattered at Byakuran's lazy, casual drawl. Shouichi's shock was tangible and real –I, on the other hand, couldn't claim to be surprised by seeing that Byakuran had made fake duplicates of the Mare Rings to use as a smokescreen. If he had always known that Shouichi would betray him… why hand him something as precious as the Mare Ring of Sun?

_(Endless are the boundaries of the restless Sea–)_

"_Allow me to introduce to you the real Funeral Wreaths, Vongola."_ Byakuran gave the redhead a conspiratorial wink that fooled absolutely no one. Shouichi's face was pale. _"I've assembled them in secret, but it's high time that the world has gotten to know them now."_

And so saying, Byakuran made a grand, sweeping gesture out to the side with his arms –and six separate images appeared on the screen. Six different people, all of them dangerous individuals.

Enemies.

Targets to be eliminated.

"_They're very special people, my Funeral Wreaths." _Byakuran smiled benignly, indulgently. _"Did you know that I've scoured all over this world for people with strong resolutions? You know what they say, 'The flame is only as strong as the will.' For example, this one here…"_

The white-haired monster gestured at the almost bored-looking profile of a redhead displayed in a corner of the screen.

"_I asked him this when I found him: 'Can you show me your resolve?' And guess what he did?"_

The screen flickered and changed into–

A small town, a beautiful village, nestled into the foot of a small mountain range buried deep within the lush greenery of a quiet countryside. Quaint and pure, in the way small towns were known to be.

And.

And.

And it _burned._

At an unbidden signal, the mountains burst open in a crude mimicry of volcanic eruptions, Storm flames ripping upwards and disintegrating everything it touched. The mountains literally _melted_ into molten lava as plumes of ash clouded the air, as the thatched rooftops of the village caught aflame and swirled into a hellish inferno. Screams and pleas and cries for mercy –the agony of the villagers went ignored and unheeded as their flesh was stripped away by the gaping maws of hungry flames, as they burn burn _burned–_

Nothing but charred flesh and brittle bones; and sometimes not even that.

Ashes.

A village of ashes.

…

I quickly glanced at Tsuna and the others from the corner of my eye. This recording, this footage –a scene of pure destruction, it was a tried and true intimidation tactic meant to scare and cow us with this display of power. Brutality and cruelty. It was a message: _This is what we are capable of. This is what we can easily do. This is how we will crush you._

Tsuna's face was pale from this gruesome display, and he wasn't the only one. Hayato looked tense and grim, while the carefree smile had dropped entirely from Takeshi's lips. Ryohei seemed unnaturally subdued, and Lambo had turned away from the screen entirely, burying his face into Tetsuya's shoulder–

Hayato gave a jerky start, suddenly letting out a strangled cry.

"Th-That guy, he's– _he's bathing in the lava!"_

…

And so he was.

(Byakuran had always liked surrounding himself with monsters.)

"_He willingly gave up his hometown for me," _A touch of something wistful, something completely at odds with the slow smile spreading over the white-haired man's lips. _"The villagers who took him in and raised him as their own –gone in a single instant, just like that. I hadn't really thought he would do something as drastic as this when I just asked him to show me his conviction!"_

"This is crazy…" The breathless whisper fell from Tsuna's lips, his eyes frozen to the screen. There was a slight tremble in his body –he didn't understand, how could _anyone_ do something as monstrous as this–

(It's because the lot of them are all monsters.)

I reached over and gently grasped his hand in my own, resolutely looking forward at the image that Byakuran wanted to burn into our minds, an image that was far from the worst that had been seared into my memories.

(Afraid to see what his reaction would be.)

Tsuna's fingers curled around mine, and he didn't seek to pull away.

"_Each of my Funeral Wreaths has five thousand soldiers serving under them," _the violet-eyed man remarked neutrally. _"In addition to that, each has also hand-picked a hundred A-level subordinates."_

Outclassed.

All of you are easily, hopelessly outclassed–

"_But! But, it's no fun if we don't make this into a ceremony." _Byakuran grinned cheerfully. _"Do you still remember 'Choice,' Shouichi? I'm going to make it real. In ten days' time, I will meet you all at the stage for ushering in the era of the new world."_

His face loomed closer to the screen, smile widening with a tinge of bloodlust after declaring these words.

"_In ten days' time," _Byakuran repeated, all but purring,_ "I will reach my hand into your chest and carve out your still-beating heart for the world to see."_

I flinched involuntarily, hand automatically clamping down tightly on Tsuna's, because I still remembered–

–_**that ghostly echo of a clawed hand digging into my chest, ripping through flesh and bone alike with evident ease, reaching in and closing around my heart and**_**squeezing **_**and there was just so much pain and I was choking on blood and I couldn't– couldn't–**_

Breathe.

_Breathe._

Damn it all, get a hold on things and just–

"_Oh? You're looking a little pale there, Tsubaki. Feeling a little faint, are we?"_

Fuck.

He did this on purpose. There's no way he didn't. That slow smile on his face, the look of a predator toying with his prey –_he knows, he remembers; he fucking _remembers–

"Leave her alone."

_Tsuna._

My head whipped around towards him, surprise warring with the fragile thread of hope stirring–

Flames.

There were flames in Tsuna's eyes. Burnished orange flames, glowing with a brilliant intensity as he quietly stared down the white-haired monster.

"… Don't hurt her anymore."

A low whisper that carried throughout the room.

And Byakuran simply threw his head back and _laughed._ I inwardly cringed, realizing an instant before he spoke the next words that were about to come from his mouth–

"_Oh, that's rich, coming from you!"_ The white-haired man's gaze zeroed in on Tsuna gleefully, mocking violet eyes gleaming with an unholy light. _"Haven't you realized it yet, Tsuna? The reason why your little assassin is hurting, why she is always in pain, why she fights and fights and fights until she's a broken little thing that knows nothing but blood –it's all because of you! You, and the rest of your little friends! Isn't it priceless, how willing she is to throw away her life for you every time in every reality?"_

Tsuna's eyes were wide with shock at the obvious implications of his words, but Byakuran wasn't quite done yet.

"_I've tried to break her of this little habit before –sad that it didn't quite take root, don't you think? You should've seen how distraught she was, that despair from that time when she realized she had essentially–"_

I, on the other hand, was _thoroughly_ done with listening to Byakuran rant on and on about _things that did not matter._

…

… Admittedly, there were tamer reactions than hurling my sword into the middle of the screen and abruptly shattering it, but my control over my flames had been shot to hell. No thanks to the drug that Shouichi had administered to me while I had been unconscious earlier.

(Besides, nailing Byakuran in the middle of the forehead with the tsurugi was quite therapeutic, even if it was only an image of the man himself.)

Resolutely ignoring the looks I was receiving from everyone around me, I easily strode forward into the rubble to retrieve my sword.

"… Tsubaki?"

_Concern. Tsuna is concerned. _

…

… _Say something. _

_But what am I supposed to say? 'It's alright'? When has anything ever been alright for me? When will anything ever be alright for us? _

_(When will this all be over?)_

"Yes, Tsuna?" I asked mildly, tone placid and calm –which was quite an accomplishment in and of itself, considering my feelings at the moment. My voice came out perfectly polite and neutral, as if I hadn't just thrown my sword into the transmission screen to cut off Byakuran's words.

"A-About…" The flames in his eyes were fading now. Tsuna looked a little hesitant at pressing the subject with me, but eventually made the decision to continue on regardless, a spark of determination flickering inside him.

A steely, immovable determination that was all-too-familiar to my eyes.

"About what he said. What exactly did he mean, by…?"

His voice trailed off softly, a lilting question at the end, and I pointedly fixed my gaze in the opposite direction.

_It doesn't… it's not important. _

_Please drop it, Tsuna. _

_Don't worry about the future, don't worry about… me…_

…

It was Shouichi who finally broke the uneasy silence that had befallen us. "Tsubaki, don't you think it would be better for them to know of your… circumstances?"

_Circumstances._

… _What a nice way of putting things. 'Circumstances.'_

"Why would it matter?" I couldn't quite keep the hint of bitterness from coloring my tone, and Shouichi shook his head.

"It matters more than you think." A brief pause, before he continued lowly. "Your future self trusted us enough to tell us of this secret when we planned this operation in secret."

A small trickle of surprise, but I was able to tamp it down and control it. I had suspected it, judging by Shouichi's earlier actions, but…

_Hadn't I promised to myself that I would never…?_

"It's not about trust, Shouichi." Trust had never been a problem, not with them. Not on my behalf, at least.

But it wasn't… it wasn't something I needed to burden them with, not with the situation as it was. Ten days. Shouichi had mentioned training. They would train for ten days –train and learn how to use their box weapons to fight. They didn't need any… distractions.

They didn't need me to distract them with something like this.

"Then have faith," The redhead pressed gently, and I couldn't help but let out a short bark of laughter.

"Faith is all I have left."

* * *

_Shouichi looked at her sadly._

"_Don't you think they have a right to know at this point? You're not being fair to them –you're not being fair to _yourself._ How is this helping anyone, Tsubaki?"_

_The raven-haired girl remained stubbornly silent after this. Something in Tsuna's mind whispered that her reluctance stemmed from fear, but fear of what, exactly? Fear of rejection? Fear of endangering them? Fear of–_

_Fear of what?_

'_The reason why your little assassin is hurting, why she is always in pain, why she fights and fights and fights until she's a broken little thing that knows nothing but blood –it's all because of you! You, and the rest of your little friends!'_

_He had always known, to a certain extent. Ever since he had first seen Tsubaki sitting in his living room that day, tracing the edge of a teacup at the table as she smiled briefly and bowed so ever politely before introducing herself… there had always been something heavy that cloaked her and enshrouded her in misery._

_Sadness._

_Tsubaki had always been… sad. _

_So very, very sad._

_He viewed Tsubaki as a friend, felt a certain connection with her, but… what was it exactly? She wasn't… she wasn't like Gokudera or Yamamoto, wasn't like Hibari or Mukuro, but… close, and still somehow distant. Distant, yet close. As if she had always wanted to come closer to them, but instead forced herself to remain at a distance–_

_Was this why, maybe? Something to do with this secret she was keeping?_

_It still didn't quite make sense, though. Tsubaki had literally shown up out of the blue, sauntered into Namimori one day out of nowhere and into his life. She wouldn't… friendship and loyalty, it was… something that was built up through time, wasn't it? 'Fight and fight until she knows nothing but blood' –that was a reference to her occupation as an assassin, wasn't it?_

_But why would Tsubaki be an assassin because of him?_

_(If 'Tsubaki' was even her real name? But that was what she had introduced herself as, regardless of what Byakuran had claimed…)_

_And._

_And what Byakuran had also said, right after–_

'_Isn't it priceless, how willing she is to throw away her life for you every time in every reality?'_

_Every reality._

Every reality.

Throw away _her _life _in _every _reality_ _as if it… as if it were a simple observation, a fact, a truth. And what did Byakuran even mean by 'every reality'? Wasn't there only one reality?_

_It didn't make sense._

_(Yes it does.)_

_Tsuna watched the raven-haired girl, waiting for her to say something, anything. His right hand still tingled with a ghostly sensation where she had gripped him before –when she had reached out to him as Byakuran showed them destructionblooddeath–_

"… _Please, Tsubaki?"_

_Please._

_Trust us._

_Have faith._

…

_(Because I trust you and have faith in you, too.)_

* * *

Silence ringing in the air.

The flash of destructive light that had briefly overtaken us, the trick that Byakuran had installed into the flame transportation device meant to kill us… if it hadn't been for Shouichi's foresight, if it hadn't been for the presence of all seven Vongola Rings… everything would've been over before it even had a chance to begin.

And yet, despite having narrowly escaped certain death –somehow their focus was still on getting answers out of me.

… _Would it really be so bad, letting them know?_

Secrets are meant to remain just that –_secret. _Moreover, secrets were secrets for a reason. My self-imposed silence was for the sake of _protecting _them. How many times had I told them of my experiences before? How many times had we worked together to prevent certain events from happening, with aid of my foreknowledge –and how many times had Byakuran counted on the very act of me telling them, to lay traps and manipulate events to his advantage again?

I didn't want to be a liability.

If I told them and they believed me –pity. They would pity me; try to shelter me and keep me safe because of the horrors I had endured. And I didn't need that. _They_ didn't need that. They didn't need for me to be another burden to watch out for, someone to always keep an extra eye on. I didn't need to become one of their weaknesses, a weaknesses that would always be exploited without fail.

(Exploitations which were often fatal.)

…

Trust? Of course I trust them.

Faith? Of course I have faith in them.

But did it matter, in the grand scheme of things?

…

… Shouichi had a point, too. The situation had changed. In every lifetime, I had never… being sent to the future like this, it… it was never something that had happened before. I could predict general events before they happened in each world, even with all the variations between each lifetime, but this… this was something completely unprecedented, even if the war in this future hadn't been entirely unexpected.

Would it be better for them to know? Or would Byakuran be counting on the fact that I would tell them to set another trap for us? Or… if he knew I was wary of saying anything… was this just another trap banking on the fact that I was too scared to tell them anything anymore? Would not telling them serve to be more detrimental in the future?

I.

Just.

Don't.

Know.

Anymore.

…

Three steps.

One, two, three.

Before I knew it, Tsuna had stepped forward and taken my hand in his own –a reversal of what I had done for him when Byakuran had shown us that footage.

A sign of comfort. Of understanding. The silent equivalent of _'It's okay, I'm here for you.'_

…

I let out an explosive exhale, squaring my shoulders and spinning around to face them –not quite looking any of them in the eyes, but–

"As you know, Byakuran is the holder of the Mare Ring of Sky, a cornerstone of the Tri-Ni-Sette." My voice was low and tight. "It… He has the ability to share his memories and experiences between his parallel selves across every world that exists in this universe. That is how he was –_is_–able to amass so much power and destroy every world that he has dominated."

I fixed my gaze on the shattered remains of the broken screen.

"… I've lived through it." For a moment, I was seeing the rubbles of an entirely battleground. I blinked, and the image disappeared. "… I'm… in a bit of a bind, you could say. For some reason I have yet to determine, I've been… 'looping' through these parallel worlds. I've lived through each and every world that Byakuran has destroyed."

My lips curved into a mirthless smile.

"I know you. All of you. You don't know me, but that's okay. I'm used to it now." Slightly rambling. I forcibly loosened my hold on Tsuna's hand, once I realized I'd been gripping him so tightly that his hand was beginning to turn white. "It's just… I know things. And Byakuran, he… he knows that I know. He… has always been able to use it against me, to great effect."

A small pause.

"… I'm afraid that I haven't quite had the same success against him, the times that I've tried."

(There was a self-depreciating note in my tone. This time, I let it stay.)

"Believe me, don't believe me –it is of no particular importance to me anymore." The line of my hard gaze landed on Shouchi. "Byakuran must be stopped. _That_ is our current priority."

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Lots of feedback on the last chapter, haha. A big thank-you to everyone who reviewed! Reviews keep our enthusiasm for continuing this story alive. :D

This chapter actually would've been out last week if my English/Literature professor hadn't suddenly dropped an essay on my class out of the blue. So I rushed through it within the week and on the day we were supposed to turn it in –"Oh, sorry, the due date on the assignment sheet has a typo. The essay is actually due next week."

Cue face-palm.

…

… Well, I hope this chapter turned out okay, even if it was mostly dialogue again. ;3 Any thoughts on the reveal? Any predictions for character reactions to learning Tsubaki's 'secret'? Any interactions in particular that you would like to see?

We will probably get to Choice next time, and Yuni will be arriving soon. :D

And yeah, we're making Byakuran a little more insane and unhinged here than he was in the manga. Personally, I think that the manga was rather tame in its portrayal of an evil-overlord-who-looped-through-and-dominated-slash-destroyed-multiple-parallel-worlds. Zuiyun agrees with me on that. :3

Also!

_I'm putting up a new section on my profile: __**Sneak Peeks at Possible/Upcoming Stories.**_It's a section where I'll be posting bits and pieces of stories I'm considering writing or random ideas that I'm working on. Some won't actually be listed in the 'Story Ideas' section that's been sitting there for, like, forever and a day. xD

_**Do **__**not **__**even **__**think**__** about trying to steal what you see there and publish it as your own**__. _I'm sorry, but I have to put this out here. NOTE: I keep records of my writing. I also back it up on where you can actually see the date, so I have physical evidence that what's posted there is mine. This section is only a test trial of sorts, since I haven't seen anyone with anything like this on their profiles yet. If I ever catch wind of anyone posting anything of mine anywhere without my permission, I will have no qualms reporting them and discontinuing this section entirely.

… That being said, there's only the snippet for one project up right now. It's tentatively titled _Sirius,_ and is a spin-off on _Polaris _(unrelated to _Canopus_). Check it out if you're interested. :3

_I also have a casual little __**poll**__ of my current stories up_. Just doing a survey of which ones people are most interested in. ;) I'd appreciate it if you would take a moment to drop by and vote! Three choices max.

_Incandescent _has also been updated. Please check it out if you've been keeping an eye on it~

Aaand back to _Onwards Till Dawn:_

**QUESTION(1):** Would you prefer seeing Tsubaki be an active participant in Choice?

Most fanfics all have OCs being in the Choice battle, but we have two scenarios in mind that could possibly work. Any thoughts on this?

**QUESTION(2):** What do you suppose Tsubaki's name was before she became 'Tsubaki'? ;3

…

Till next time, everyone. Please leave a review~

-XxZuiliu


	20. 02: 6 To Become Strong (Bonus)

Eight.

Eight left out of ten. One I had taken before joining future-Kyoya in battle, another one back when I was preparing to sneak into Melone base. Two consumed total. Eight left.

I quietly slipped the small bottle of red pills into my pocket again when I heard someone knocking on the door.

"Who is it? … Oh."

My hand dropped from the doorknob as I took in the sight of the diminutive figure of the girl standing in front of me.

Chrome.

It was… certainly a surprise, to see her at my door. I hadn't… hadn't really expected anyone to approach me, not yet. There was no doubt of the questions that would come, but… they were uneasy of me right now, and it would take awhile before they felt confident and comfortable enough to approach me again. My actions, my behavior, they hadn't really been…

…

… I didn't blame them.

(Repeatedly reincarnating between parallel worlds in what seemed to be an infinite loop was no easy prospect to swallow, but then again –Byakuran could transfer memories between his parallel selves in each world, Aria and Yuni had both been capable of traveling through–)

"H-Hello." Chrome ducked her head, stuttering lightly in her greetings. There was a small pause, as if she was mustering up her nerve, before speaking again. "I… I was wondering if… if you could… train me. Please."

I blinked, startled.

… What to say?

"Chrome," I picked my response carefully, "I… I know that I helped you train for the Ring Battles, but that was more of adjusting you to fight in real combat situations. The training right now is specifically geared towards each of you learning to use your respective box animals, and I'm not a Mist user. I really don't know if you would find anything I have to say to be particularly helpful."

"… Ah."

Her fingers tightened their grip around the three-pronged trident, and she shrunk into herself even more at my answer.

"I… I'm sorry for… bothering you."

…

Oh, hell.

"Why are you so eager to start training? You should be resting right now, shouldn't you? How are your injuries?" The blue-haired girl stiffened at my sudden inquiries, and I sighed. "Wait a moment here, will you?"

I slipped on a customary black jacket over my shoulders and stepped into the hallway next to her, quietly closing the door behind me.

"Walk with me, Chrome?"

Her confusion was apparent as she stumbled after me, and I held out my hand towards her. There was another hesitation on her behalf before she timidly reached out with her own.

Her hand was cold.

"… Shouichi already confirmed it, didn't he?" I began speaking, studying her expression closely from the corner of my eyes. "Mukuro isn't dead. His name is still active on the Vindice's lists, which means he is alive. There's no need for you to worry about Mukuro right now, Chrome… Also, please remember this: You are not his weakness."

She flinched.

"_You are not his weakness,"_ I repeated myself, stressing the words. "You and Mukuro are… two halves of a whole, in a manner of speaking. Don't think of yourself as his liability. Why did you ask me for training, Chrome?"

"To…" Her voice faltered for a moment at the abrupt switch in topic. "… To get stronger."

"But why do you want to get stronger?" I pressed gently, "Is it because you think that you are currently weak? Do you want to train so you'll have power to fight Byakuran and his Funeral Wreaths? Are you afraid of getting hurt? Or do you seek to inflict pain upon your enemies?"

There. That room.

I recalled passing it a yesterday, when the door had been left ajar…

"You need to have a clear goal in mind before you start training, Chrome." I gave her a wry little smile. "Don't just train because everyone else is. You're not weak or useless, and you certainly shouldn't be trying to wear yourself out with all these worries when you should be resting. So _rest_. Give yourself time to heal."

We stepped into the room together.

"Take a seat, Chrome."

She tilted her head in confusion.

"Why…?"

"You've always been rather fond of music." I gave her hand a gentle squeeze before stepping away. "There was even that one time when you tried to teach me how to play the cello … certain circumstances forced us to cut the lessons short, unfortunately. Do you like listening to piano songs?"

The blue-haired girl gave a timid little nod.

"I'm a bit out of practice," I admitted, turning and heading over to the grand piano standing in the center of the small room. "Just… try to relax, alright? Listening to music should help with that, I've heard."

…

How strange.

The black and white keys under my fingertips… how long ago had it been? When had been the last time that I'd sat down in front of a piano like this? What song had I played? Who had I played it for? What had been the occasion?

I meandered through a few scales, trying to decide on a song I remembered. So much of the pieces I had once been so very familiar with now slipped my mind, bits and pieces and tiny little fragments…

_That one._

Yes.

A song whose melody readily came to me, and–

…

…

…

The soft music washed over the stillness of the small room, light and cheerful in its raindrop harmony.

* * *

"_Is Bianchi playing the piano again?"_

_Gokudera glanced up from his notes on box weapons, scowling at the airheaded baseball idiot sitting to the side._

"_She's in the kitchen," he grumbled. _

_Unfortunately._

"_Hahaha," Yamamoto laughed sheepishly. "Do you have any idea who it is, then? I thought you and Bianchi were the only ones who knew how to play the piano here."_

_Juudaime cocked his head, making a small sound of assent in the back of his throat._

"_It… it does sound like there's someone playing the piano, doesn't it?"_

…

_He hears it._

_He hears what they are talking about._

_He hears the soft melody of the piano._

_And._

…

"_E-eh?! G-Gokudera, where are you going?"_

… _That song. _That song. _It was… it was one of his mother's original works, no doubt. Gokudera knew each and every one of the songs that his mother had composed by heart, and this one –he _knew_ this one; how could he not?_

_How could he ever forget the last song that he had begged his mother to teach him, before she had died? How could he ever forget the first song that she had played for him when they met under the guise of teacher and student for the very first time?_

_How could he ever forget?_

_He was barely aware of his steps hastening, faster and faster and faster still –until the music of the piano was louder, louder, _louder; _and he couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't see straight, not until he was standing in front of the piano room and he jerked the door open with pale, shaky hands–_

_Raven hair._

_(It almost feels like being hit with a bolt of lightning.)_

_…_

_Raven hair._

_No._

_His mother didn't have raven hair._

_…_

_This wasn't– it wasn't–_

_…_

"_Wow," Yamamoto remarked cheerfully to the side, "I didn't know that Tsubaki knew how to play the piano."_

_The song finally reaches its crescendo, a trilling note, and–_

_Silence._

_Nothing._

_It's over._

_End._

…

"'_End of the Tempest Squall.'" Tsubaki's voice finally breaks the stillness left in wake of the piano song. "I remember bits and pieces of various others, but this is the only song I remember completely from beginning to end. You taught it to me when… a long time ago, Hayato."_

…

_He… doesn't know what to do. How to react? What to say?_

_He doesn't… he doesn't know if he is quite ready to believe her claims of 'looping' through parallel worlds, but given this… a relatively unknown work of his mother's despite being such a masterpiece… End of the Tempest Squall…_

_To hear someone else play it is…_

…

"_Move over," He stiffly walks over to the piano. "Your technique is awful."_

_The assassin huffs out a small laugh, and Gokudera pointedly fixes his gaze on the piano keys –not on how her body unconsciously relaxes, upon seeing him willingly sit down next to her on the piano chair without so much as a twitch. To tell the truth, he's a little surprised by it himself, too._

_… Not that he particularly wants to linger on that fact, of course._

"_Watch," he commands, and begins to play._

…

…

…

_(He still isn't quite sure what to make of her.)_

_(He still thinks she is dangerous.)_

_(… He just doesn't know if she is an enemy anymore, not when all evidence points to the contrary. He isn't sure if he wants her to be.)_

* * *

"What do you know about Byakuran?"

"You mean, other than the fact that he is a power-hungry madman bent on world domination?" I asked dryly, folding my arms together in front of my chest. "He's clever. Ruthless. Of course, he likes to hide it all under that cheerful, oblivious façade of his, but he's as cunning as a fox. Byakuran isn't the type of person to care about collateral damage when he's fighting; anything and everything is fair game to him."

Reborn gave a curt nod.

"That matches up to what we have observed of him so far," he remarked.

_I'll bet._

"How is your training coming along, Tsubaki?" Shouichi interjected from the side, offering a friendly smile from where he was sitting. "Are you getting along well with… um, 'Kuro,' was it?"

Ah, that reminded me…

"Shou-i-chi," I drawled out slowly, _smiling._ The redhead froze in his seat. "I've been wondering… is there any particular reason why my box animal is a vulture? Did my future-self use Kuro in battle as well?"

"W-Well, about that." Shouichi gesticulated ineffectually with his hand, before giving up and letting it fall limply by his side. "Your… um, your future-self didn't use any box animals in battle."

… What?

"The Nero Volpi, twin foxes." He quickly elaborated, "They're Gamma's box animals now. You told us that you've used them before, multiple times, and there was a chance that Byakuran would capitalize on his foreknowledge of your combat skills, so… you gave them to Gamma. I'm not sure where you got the black vulture box weapon from afterwards, but you gave it to Hibari at some point –future-Hibari, at least– for safekeeping."

"… I see."

It certainly made sense, why I would choose to use a different box animal from what I was used to working with. Byakuran wouldn't be able to form countermeasures against techniques he didn't know, which would give me that extra edge in battle.

If I could make it work, that is.

It wasn't as if I disliked vultures, it's just that… Kuro was… different.

(It's strange to go from two box animals to one, and even stranger still when it's from four-legged animals on the ground to a bird flying in the air. I was working on it, and there was progress, but… well. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it was a 'work in progress' and leave it at that.)

"Dino will be here tomorrow." Reborn spoke up, "He'll be taking charge of Hibari's training from here on out. There's word from the Varia as well –Squalo is on his way, and he'll be training Yamamoto once he arrives."

"… Ah." I nodded, "Is there… anything you would like me to help with?"

For a moment, Reborn's gaze was completely unreadable.

"… No."

_He doesn't trust you._

_He doesn't trust you._

_Of course he doesn't trust you. Why would he? What made you ever think it that _Reborn_ would–_

"You have your hands full already. When it comes to combat, you're the most experienced out of the lot. I would prefer that you be able to focus on your own training in preparation for the battle to come. We can take care of the others' training regimens." Reborn's voice sounded almost nonchalant, but the glitter in his eyes now betrayed his offhand amusement. "… This has nothing to do with trust."

I stared in disbelief for a moment, before a sardonic smile made its way over my lips.

"That obvious, am I?"

"No." Again, I was surprised by his answer. Reborn looked entirely too pleased in catching me off-balance. "I'm the Greatest Hitman for a reason, Tsubaki. Time-traveler between parallel worlds or not, you've still got a long way to go before you can think of fooling me."

…

I couldn't help it.

I laughed.

* * *

"_Byakuran! Bya–ku–ran–"_

"_Hm? What is it, Bluebell?"_

_The silver-haired man stopped, turning towards the little girl hurtling down the hall in his direction._

"_When are we going to fight? I'm bored!" The little girl whined._

"_Now, now… Patience is a virtue, Bluebell." He handed her a small packet of marshmallows instead, and the blue-haired girl pouted, puffing out her cheeks. "We've got a week or so left. It won't be long now."_

_She let out a small hum, swaying on her feet._

"_You're not going to ask us to go easy on them and play games, right? I mean, of course we'll put on a show for you –but we're allowed to have our fun and kill, right? Right?"_

_The white-haired man dropped into a thinking pose._

"_Byakuran!"_

"_Of course, Bluebell." He laughed, ruffling the little girl's hair and easily ignoring the petulant sound that came from her throat. "After we obtain the Vongola Rings, all of you will be free to do whatever you wish with them."_

"_Yay!"_

* * *

"You can't just expect us to go along with whatever you want when you're not even telling us the truth about what you're doing! 'Sumo-wrestling,' really? We're not idiots!"

Kyoko.

Haru.

They were… what? 'Boycotting housework until filled in on situation'…?

(When did they even make those signs?)

The duo stormed out of the doorway, nearly crashing into me face-first when they made a sharp right and slid on the floor.

"Careful," I commented lightly, catching Kyoko by the elbow and Haru by the hand before we ended up falling in a large tangle of flailing limbs and purple bruises. "Do I even want to know what has the two of you so worked up like this?"

"Tsubaki!" Kyoko's eyes brightened, and suddenly our roles were reversed –_she _was the one gripping _my_ sleeve, and the intensity of her stare didn't exactly make for a very pleasant sensation to be on the receiving end. "You know what's going on, right?"

"Do I know what?"

"Don't play dumb, hahi!" Haru scowled, fisting her fingers into my other sleeve. "You know what the boys are up to, right? You're in it, too! We just… we can't stand being kept in the dark and knowing nothing! The injuries they came back with, the way they train like crazy day and night to _fight, _Haru… Haru and Kyoko deserve to know what's going on!"

"I… okay, slow down a moment, please." I eyed the girls warily. "You're upset at being kept out of the loop, I get it. Just… calm down, alright? Let's go back to the table and try to talk this out with the boys like rational people instead of storming out of the room and plowing down innocent–"

"You're with them too, aren't you?" Kyoko's voice was both disapproving and accusing. "You're going to tell us that it's for our own good that we don't know anything, right?"

"Stop putting words into my mouth." My tone gained an edge of sharpness, but I quickly let it go and sighed when I saw the two girls flinch. "… Look. You know that what we're doing right now is dangerous, right? You know that we're fighting, yes?"

"Hard not to notice," Haru grumbled, and I tactfully ignored the comment.

"Do you know how to fight?"

Both of them seemed truly startled.

"I… We…"

"This is part of the reason why they are reluctant to tell you anything," I spoke quietly. "By giving you information, they'll be putting you in more danger. Danger that you won't be able to protect yourselves from should anything go awry."

Kyoko pursed her lips.

"… But we're already in danger," she protested, voice equally as soft as mine. "We're… we're trying our hardest here, we really are, but… we have to know, Tsubaki. We _have_ to know, or we'll –we'll go crazy! This future, we don't… For all we know, there could be a war or something raging on out there and they're just trying to–"

Someone made a choking sound from the kitchen, and both girls' eyes immediately widened.

"Is it really…?!"

I closed my eyes, counted to three in a vain attempt to stave off the incoming headache, and marched into the room, dragging both girls closely behind me.

"Sit." The boys were at the table. Tsuna was still in the middle of recovering from his impromptu coughing fit. "Talk. Sort out whatever problems you have going on between you here –at a time like this, it's important that we all stay together, yes?"

… Talk about cutting silence with a knife.

"Kyoko, Haru, from your perspective, it's unreasonable for the boys to expect you to do the housework unquestioningly and obliviously when it's so painfully obvious that there's something wrong. For them, though, they simply want to keep you two safe and not let you worry about any of the dangers ahead. Neither side is really wrong, but if you don't fix this issue…" I let my voice trail off towards the end, frowning when no one spoke up after me.

"… Fine."

I stood up and walked to the doorway.

"I," my voice was simple and deceptively pleasant. "Am going to lock this door. When you have worked out this problem between you, the door will open again."

…

…

…

Reborn looked absurdly pleased when I threw the keys to him in the hallway. Shouichi seemed nothing short of horrified at what I had just done.

"Are you sure this will…?"

"They'll learn to compromise," I shrugged. "It's either that, or miss an entire day of training. I'm sure they'll figure something out."

"You _do_ realize that all of our food supplies are in the kitchen, right?" He looked at me skeptically, "The kitchen that you just locked them in?"

"… We can afford to skip a meal or two."

"And if it stretches on for an entire day?"

"It won't take that long," Reborn stated confidently. "Tsuna and the others may be stubborn, but they should know their priorities."

The _or else_ tagged onto the end of that statement remained unspoken, even though we all heard it loud and clear.

…

"… C'mon, I'm pretty sure Giannini has a secret stash of food squirreled away somewhere."

"How do you _know?"_

* * *

…

"Tsubaki?"

"Hm?" I turned around, blinking, before smiling. "Hi, Tsuna. How may I help you today?"

"I-It's nothing, just…" His eyes flickered to the ground for a moment, before coming up and meeting my gaze directly. "I… I wanted to say thank you. Um."

"… You want to thank me for locking you in a room with your long-time crush?" I inquired slyly, laughing outright when Tsuna yelped and went beet-redin the face with embarrassment. For a moment, there was something akin to déjà vu that flashed through my mind, but I easily brushed the feeling aside. It was nothing new. "I'm kidding, Tsuna. And you're welcome."

I turned my attentions back to the black vulture perched on my wrist, and Tsuna took a cautious step closer. Kuro didn't seem to mind –the lazy bird merely flicked an eye at him and went back to grooming its feathers. I clucked my tongue.

"Tsuna, meet Kuro. Kuro, Tsuna."

"… You named him 'Kuro?' Really? I thought–"

"Spanner commented on my lack of creativity in terms of naming skills, and I have ensured that he will never do so again. Would you still like to finish that sentence, Tsuna?"

"… It's okay, I'm good," he squeaked out nervously.

I let out a small laugh, opening my box and returning Kuro to the green cube again.

"Have you had any luck with your box animal yet?"

Judging by that wince, the answer was a firm 'no.'

I tilted my head questioningly. "… What seems to be the problem?"

"It…" Tsuna pulled out the orange box weapon from his pocket, carefully cupping it in his hands. "Look. Whenever I think about opening it, it just starts… shaking again, just like it did that night. I don't… I don't want to open it again just for it to go on another rampage…"

Almost as if on cue, the orange Sky box began shivering again.

"… Can you think of anything you might be doing wrong?" I wondered aloud, "Something you've forgotten, maybe?"

Tsuna shook his head silently.

"In that case…" A box that refused to obey its user. What were the possible reasons for such behavior? Unless…? "What do you think about your box animal, Tsuna?"

"… What?"

"What do you think about it?" I repeated myself, "I mean, look at the others. Everyone seems to have good relations with their box animals, don't they? Well… Hayato and Uri seem to be a bit of a stretch, but they've also established some sort of rapport with each other. When they open their boxes, they think of a companion. What do you think of your box weapon, Tsuna?"

The boy blinked.

"… What do I think?" He echoed softly, holding the orange box to the face, and it shook even more violently. "I'm… scared. Whenever I think of opening it again, I'm scared of that monster coming out and destroying everything. I'm scared of not being able to stop it in time, I'm scared of it hurting my friends… but that's not what a box animal is supposed to be, right?"

Tsuna glanced up towards me.

"Friends." He ventured tentatively, "Box animals, in a way they just want to be… friends, aren't they?"

The Sky box stilled.

"… Thanks, Tsubaki." Tsuna smiled softly, genuinely, and I looked away from his gratitude.

_Idon'tdeserveit._

"What are you thanking me for?" I shrugged helplessly, "You went through that thought process on your own."

"You pointed out the problem to me, though." He returned, and simply smiled again, even brighter than before. "Thank you, Tsubaki."

_Youshouldn'tbethankingme._

_…_

"… You're welcome."

…

* * *

**_Bonus._**

* * *

_Extra: "Look to the Sunrise"_

* * *

_._

He meets her on the first day of middle school, when it's lunchtime in cafeteria and bully-Tsuna-time out in the courtyards.

"_What's going on here?"_

Her voice is cold, cold, _cold._ Like ice; cutting across the scuffle and freezing everyone mid-action. There is _authority_ in her tone –and not just the authority of, say, the teachers at school; but an entirely different sort of authority, of _power, _of–

"… Oi, who the hell do you think you are?" Masato, the first to recover, sneers condescendingly her. At the blue-eyed girl. "Get out of the way, before we–"

"Violence is prohibited on school grounds," her sharp voice silences Masato effortlessly. "You are aware of the rules at Namimori Middle, correct?"

The boy glares and seethes.

"Now listen here–"

What ensues is nothing short of an epic beat-down that leaves Tsuna struggling to scrape his jaw off the ground from shock, and Masato and his friends struggling to pick _themselves _off the ground, a mess of bruises and whimpers. It is at this point that Tsuna finally notices the armband neatly tied around her shoulder, the red armband that signifies her as–

"I suggest that you watch yourselves. Next time, the Disciplinary Committee won't be so forgiving."

(He watches her nod at him and leave in a sort of stunned stupor, and then a small corner of his mind idly wonders if this is what they call–)

.

* * *

.

Tsuna finds that he sees her around at school a lot after that incident, whether it be pacing the hallways or patrolling the courtyards. There are only momentary glimpses that he catches of her, almost as if seeing the blue-eyed girl go about her duties from distant snapshots of her life –but sometimes her eyes slide over in his direction when he stares a second too long, and he quickly ducks his head, feeling his cheeks burn at being caught staring like an idiot. But she never calls him out on it, even though she notices, and sometimes –sometimes Tsuna thinks he can feel a pair of blue eyes trailing behind him.

Sometimes, Tsuna wonders if she is watching him, as well.

.

* * *

.

Embarrassingly enough, he doesn't even learn the blue-eyed girl's name until a month later after the initial incident has passed (there are dozens that follow afterwards; Dame-Tsuna is Dame-Tsuna), when Kusakabe strides by one day in the crowded hallway and sharply calls out, "Tsubaki!"

…

It's a pretty name, but for some reason Tsuna stops in his tracks and wonders why hearing it makes him feel a bit sad.

.

* * *

.

He tells himself that he should talk to her. Thank her for the times that she caught his bullies before they could torment him, at the very least.

But as time stretches on, it's harder and harder to muster up the nerve to just walk up to her and say–

…

.

* * *

.

One day, a fedora-wearing baby comes.

.

* * *

.

From then on, life is nothing short of absolute chaos, and all thoughts of talking to Tsubaki take a backseat as Tsuna does his very best not to get murdered by this Spartan tutor from hell.

.

* * *

.

He runs into her in the hospital.

Literally.

Tsuna instantly knows that something is wrong when the blue-eyed girl immediately doubles over in pain, and for a moment his mind is blank with panic, because he doesn't–

"I'm okay." There's a small, strained sort of smile on her face. It's not very reassuring, especially given her pale complexion. "Just… you brushed against an injury I got the other day. Sorry for overreacting."

"A-Are…" He swallows. Talking shouldn't be this difficult. "Are you… are you sure you're alright?"

"I'll be fine." She smiles again, and this time the smile is a touch more genuine. "Thank you for your concern, Tsuna. Now, I'm sorry but I've got to run, before Hibari goes and does something stupid again. Ryohei is in the third room down to the left –he'll be glad to see you."

She brushes past him like a breeze, and Tsuna is left wondering how she even knew he was here to visit Kyoko's brother in the first place. Was she a mind-reader like Reborn, too?

.

* * *

.

He doesn't know exactly why he expected to see her at Kokuyo Land, but when Hibari emerges on the scene, when they're fighting Mukuro together –it's almost strange, the way he reflexively glances behind him for a glimpse of blue, blue eyes.

She isn't there. Why should she be?

… Is that why it feels as if there is something missing?

.

* * *

.

It's not Vongola's medical team but the Namimori Hospital staff that reaches them first in the aftermath of the battle, and Tsuna idly wonders if he really saw blue eyes and a soft smile behind the group of doctors heading towards them, or if it's just a figment of his imagination.

(Who knows? It certainly wouldn't be the first time.)

.

* * *

.

"_Stop! That man, he is not someone thou can win against!"_

The warning comes too late. Tsuna watches on in thinly-veiled horror as the silver-haired swordsman who charged out of nowhere takes down Gokudera and Yamamoto effortlessly, spinning ribbons of blood through the air in a macabre dance that would've been graceful –had it not been laced with an underlying edge of sheer brutality and bloodlust.

"Weaklings, all of you." The swordsman sneers. "Now, hand over the rings!"

And then.

And then he was upon them; Tsuna barely blocked the first strike in time, and the second blow sent him flying. The silver-haired man didn't pursue him, instead turning his attentions onto the boy who had arrived earlier –the boy with flickering, pale-blue flames shivering on his forehead, as he blocked and dodged and–

_Bang._

_Bang._

_Bang._

Gunshots. Three times, in quick succession. Tsuna _knows_ he didn't blink, but somehow within the span of what feels like a millisecond the swordsman flips and avoids all three shots, landing in a low crouch with uncanny, catlike grace–

(Nothing but a silver-black blur, movements too swift for Tsuna's eyes to follow.)

"Leave. You have what you came here for, do you not?"

He whirls around upon hearing the soft voice, fear mingling with shock and something akin to–

"Ts-Ts-Tsubaki?" His voice stutters. It's perfectly normal, isn't it?

Why in the world is she holding a _gun_ in her hands?

Unless… had she just…?

"Tsuna." She dips her head in a small nod. Then, in an almost reprimanding sort of tone, "As I suspected, you're the cause of this disturbance, aren't you?"

He blanches.

(Everyone knows what the Disciplinary Committee does to those who 'cause disturbances.')

"Leave." The blue-eyed girl turns her attentions towards the swordsman again and raises the gun in her hand. "As a member of Namimori Middle's Disciplinary Committee, I will not allow anyone to disturb the peace in Namimori."

Her finger tightens on the trigger.

.

* * *

.

"Ask her to join the Famiglia next time you see her, Dame-Tsuna."

"Stop trying to recruit my classmates, Reborn!"

(Secretly, he admits that he rather likes the idea of Tsubaki joining them. Tsubaki isn't like Hibari, who wears aloofness like a second skin and honestly prefers to keep his distance –with Tsubaki, it just seems… lonely.)

.

* * *

.

When the Ring Battles end, they throw a celebration over at Yamamoto's home. Platters upon platters of sushi line the tables, and everyone is happy and smiling and laughing–

"Congratulations on your victory, Tsuna."

There is something almost thoughtful in Tsubaki's soft voice, but whatever her thoughts are, she doesn't elaborate on them. Instead, she offers a quiet little smile and sits down beside him, just in time to watch Gokudera lunge after Lambo when the little boy proudly proclaimed to have picked up his Vongola Ring from the gutters.

And then he remembers that there's something he wants to tell her, had always wanted to tell her.

"… Thank you," he blurts out instead, and reddens when she turns on him with a quizzical look in her eyes. "I mean, for… for helping me. Us. Uh…"

Somehow, she guesses what he's trying to say, and smiles lightly.

"No need to thank me for that, Tsuna." Her chopsticks pick up a piece of raw fish from her plate. "It's… nothing, really."

"Still," he insists, because when all is said and done, he really is grateful. "Thank you. Thank you, Tsubaki."

…

(It would be ten years later until he finally realizes why her smile that day had been so very, very sad.)

.

* * *

.

"… Ne, Tsubaki?"

"Hm?"

High school. They are in high school now, and while most things are different, some things still haven't changed and most likely will never change. The Disciplinary Committee is still terrorizing the school, for one, and Tsuna is still seen as Dame by the vast majority of the school's population.

…

He hands over the other half of the popsicle to her, and takes a seat on the bench to her left.

How to go about saying this?

"I know it sounds kinda weird, but…" he trails off for a moment, trying to gather the right words for the feeling he wants to express. "Y'know, I always thought you looked kinda familiar from the first moment I saw you. It's not really Hyper Intuition or anything, but… sometimes, I can't help but wonder. Did I use to know you from anywhere else? Y'know, before Reborn came to Namimori and all?"

He chuckles sheepishly at himself, knowing full well how ridiculous he sounds.

For a moment, though –Tsubaki is perfectly silent and still. Unnaturally so.

"… No. Stop imagining things, Tsuna." There is a delicate, tremulous whisper to her voice –and then it immediately turns teasing, as she plasters a (fake) smile onto her face and grins brightly at him. "Although, if you wanted to profess your undying love for me, Kyoko will be very disappointed…"

Despite the fact that he has gotten over his first crush already a long, long time ago, Tsuna can't help but feel his face burn at _Tsubaki_ teasing him this way.

"Ack! N-no, no! That's not what I meant!" His arms flail wildly, but despite the panicked air he puts on, Tsuna _knows_ that… knows that there's something _off_ with her demeanor. But what was it? What had caused it? He didn't –he didn't mean to, he didn't want to _hurt_ her. Had it been something he said? "Tsubaki, what are you –Tsubaki! S-stop laughing at me!"

He stares at her incredulously with his jaw hanging open. Popsicle forgotten, the blue-eyed girl simply throws her head back and _laughs_.

"Tsubaki?"

Tsuna feels a shiver run down his spine, along with the first stirrings of panic when he catches sight of–

"E-eh? Tsubaki, did I say something wrong?" _Tell me what I said wrong, I promise I won't say it again. I want to help you, Tsubaki. I want to make you happy._ "Why are you crying?"

…

"… Tsubaki?"

.

* * *

.

They graduate and go to war.

.

* * *

.

The Gesso had once been a relatively small, relatively unknown Famiglia. Their strengths had lain only in intelligence and reconnaissance, with the rare saboteurs popping up every few generations or so.

Nowadays, everyone knows the Gesso name.

They know that the Gesso plans to destroy the world.

And.

They're _succeeding._

.

* * *

.

Ryohei. Lambo. Gone. They had been intercepted by the Gesso and ruthlessly–

…

…

…

"… _Promise me you won't die, Tsubaki."_

_A small smile._

"_So long as you still have need of me by your side, I will never die."_

.

* * *

.

_..._

.

* * *

.

… _Liar. liAr. LIAR!_

.

* * *

.

It feels almost surreal somehow, seeing her like this. Blue eyes stare ahead quietly, just as they had always done, and he thinks to himself that he still remembers the first time seeing those eyes –years and years ago, when she had chased away the bullies in the schoolyard. It's a jarring sight, to see her lying there, so eerily still, hands delicately folded over her stomach and staring blankly ahead with unseeing eyes.

Something burns behind his eyes, an all-too-familiar grief that he has become intimately acquainted with.

_Ryohei. Lambo. Hayato. And now…_

"You're a liar, Tsubaki," he whispers.

…

.

* * *

.

Tsuna reaches out a hand and gently brushes his fingertips over an ashen face, closing the corpse's blue, blue eyes.

.

* * *

_Extra: "Look to the Sunrise" –End_

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

This chapter is a little more lighthearted, with the exception of the extra at the end. Think of it as a short break before we hit the battles again. xD

The bonus was written in celebration of reaching the 500-review mark. Every 500 reviews, Zuiyun and I plan on writing a snippet of Tsubaki's past lives –this one was a request by **Gin Nanashi **(499th reviewer; the original 500th reviewer was a guest and the 501st reviewer declined the opportunity to choose a prompt for the 500-review extra). The request was for a snippet of the time when Tsubaki was a member of the Disciplinary Committee. I… Would anyone believe me if I said I didn't mean for it to turn into something kind of angst-y towards the end? :3

The subject of the extra might change in the future, but for now we'll keep it as 'glimpses into Tsubaki's past lives.' ;3 Well, we'll find out if we ever make it to 1k reviews someday… someday waaaaay off in the far, far future.

Kyoko and Haru aren't as oblivious in regards to the boys' mafia-life in this story. Just another difference to keep an eye out for. :D Zuiyun and I never thought that it made any sense in the manga –I mean, there has to be a point to how oblivious someone can get when this mafia craziness is shoved in front of their face, right? Nana as well…

Next time, we should be finishing up at the Vongola base and get into Choice. Anyone excited for that? :D

**QUESTION(1):** Please pick a number: 4 or 5? (This is actually relevant to the story, not a random question… No, I'm not kidding!)

**QUESTION(2): **Which canon character POVs would you be interested in seeing? Name up to three characters.

(We've done Tsuna and Gokudera a couple times already, I think. Shouichi, too. There was that Reborn-snippet awhile back for the spar between Tsubaki and Yamamoto during the Ring Battles… so, any others that you would like to see?)

Also, any thoughts on the 500-review extra at the end? :3 Who caught the familiar wording embedded in there from earlier chapters? ;) Kudos to those who can find the snippets!

Belated Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! :D And for those of you who went out shopping for Black Friday instead of holing up at home like I did today, hope you found lots of discounts and didn't get trampled by the crowd. xD

Till next time~

-XxZuiliu


	21. 02: 7 Lifting the Final Curtain

_…_

_Why won't you respond, sister? _

_(Why won't you come home? Everyone else has already returned…)_

…

… _It's dangerous, sister. _

_(Soon, it will all unravel.)_

…

_Fall apart._

_Vanish._

_(Disappear.)_

…

_There is no way to salvage things anymore. _

_(The End is nigh upon this world.)_

…

… _Come back to us, sister._

_(Come home.)_

* * *

Nighttime winds were cold, always cold, yet tonight there was no chill biting into my skin. Or perhaps there was, only that I couldn't feel it, and thus remained blissfully unaware.

There were a lot of sensations that I had learned to instinctively numb myself to –various forms of torture, various forms of pain… yet, the only pain that could never be numbed were emotions.

(Feelings of the heart, one could say. Of mind, not of body. There was a difference.)

Footsteps.

Then a lighthearted voice:

"What are doing out here, hm? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

A small exhale slipped past my lips at the familiar tone.

"I could ask the same of you," I murmured softly, not even bothering to turn, knowing that he would hear me. "Shouldn't you be with Kyoya right now?"

"Don't let him catch you addressing him like that," Dino warned half-heartedly, a lopsided grin sliding over his face as he sidled up behind me. "We don't have time for another grand chase all over Namimori right now."

A small huff of helpless laughter, and I shook my head wryly. "And whose fault was it the first time, I wonder?"

"Guilty as charged." The blond sat down next to me on the edge of the cold rooftop, easily swinging his legs over the ledge. I spared a brief second to wonder if I would have to grab him by the back of his coat to keep him from toppling over and falling off, but his movements seemed graceful enough –Romario was probably lurking around somewhere in the immediate vicinity, then.

"Now, shouldn't you be resting like all the others are doing? The battle is tomorrow."

"… I know." For a bizarre moment, I was struck by how brightly the moon was glowing tonight. Would I ever be able to see another moon like this again? "Weird dreams. I just… I just can't seem to fall asleep."

Dino arched an eyebrow.

"Too nervous to sleep?" His voice was dry, "How very unlike you, Tsubaki."

"Maybe," I let out a small sigh. "I don't like this. Byakuran… his Millefiore forces far outnumber us. If he wanted to, he can simply order his soldiers to overrun the base instead of setting up an organized fight like this. It… it reeks of arrogance, Dino, and that makes me nervous. He _knows_ we've been taking this time to train, to hone our skills and become stronger, and yet… he is still so ever confident of his victory…"

"Surprise him."

I blinked.

"Catch him off guard," Dino elaborated, leaning back and kicking his feet in the air in a faux-careless manner. "If he's going to underestimate us like this, then we'll just take the opportunity and use it against him. Isn't that what we're hoping to do in the first place? Gods, I can't believe I'm having this conversation with _you_ of all people, Tsubaki."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"Excuse me for being reasonably concerned over the battle tomorrow, then." I drawled, standing up. "I'm just… worried."

"Aren't we all?" The blond Cavallone wondered aloud.

And wasn't that the truth?

"… For what it's worth, we're going to be counting on you," Dino said quietly, and for a moment, it was hard to tell if he had actually meant for me to hear those whispered words. "All of you, from the past. For what it's worth, I'm… sorry that you have to deal with this… this… well, _everything._ This future, it shouldn't… we shouldn't have to drag you into this. Fuck, you're all so _young…"_

A bitter smile cracked over my lips.

"Tsuna and the others, maybe. But you forget; this is as much my battle as it is yours."

I flipped off the rooftop before he could call me on it.

Maybe it was cowardly of me, refusing to stay and say any more, but… who would understand, really? This… it… it wasn't quite something that could be expressed into words. Not something quite so simple. Never quite something so simple.

It wasn't something that I liked thinking about, either.

_The only way to defeat Byakuran and seal his power is to do so in this time era._

… That was what Shouichi had said, right? And… it was… _relieving_, as it was… ominous. Because I could finally see an end to this madness; an end to all of these repetitive cycles of seeing friends and family die over and over again. The enormity of what the end implied was staggering. It was something I had always been putting off in the back of my mind, avoiding thinking of, and… and as much as I hoped to finish this once and for all, I was also… anxious. Nervous. Scared.

_The only way to defeat Byakuran and seal his power is to do so in this time era._

What if we failed, then? What if… despite our best efforts, what if we _failed?_ There would be no second chances, not anymore –not if what Shouichi said was true, not if this was _the only way._ I couldn't… I just…

I don't know.

I don't know anymore. What am I supposed to think about this all? This… uncertainty, of what lay ahead of us?

…

… Even so.

Even so, I would fight for them. That had never been a question –I would gladly fight and bleed and die for them, just as they had for me lifetime upon lifetime.

(Anything, for my precious family.)

* * *

"_It's time it's time it'stimeit'stime–"_

"_Ho, there's no need to be so excitable, Daisy." He reached out a hand, easily catching the child by the back of his collar. The green-haired boy went limp in his grip and ceased struggling almost immediately, and Kikyo allowed a small smile to surface over his lips, satisfied. "Although I certainly understand your sentiments. Are the others prepared yet?"_

"_Been ready for this since day one." Crimson-haired Zakuro pushed open the doors with a graceless shove and strode in roughly, grinning. "Finally, it's time for the slaughter to begin."_

_A splash of water._

"_I bet _I _can kill more of them than you!" Bluebell slid onto the edge of the glass tank, sticking her tongue out at the Storm Guardian childishly._

"_Tch, yeah right." Zakura rolled his eyes, "Dream on, brat."_

"_Eh?! What was that? I'll have you know I can easily crack open your skull, meanie!"_

"_I said–"_

"_Zakuro was simply expressing his jealousy over how cute you are, Bluebell," Kikyo cut in smoothly, ignoring the low grumble of discontent from the redhead standing beside him. These little spats were always entertaining, no matter how many times they played out between them, but now was not the time for another altercation between the Millefiore Rain and Storm. "… That being said, do stop swinging your legs around in such an unsightly manner. You're a young lady, are you not?"_

_The blue-haired girl puffed out her cheeks and pouted, but obediently snapped her legs together._

"_I'll teach you respect one day, just you see." She scowled darkly, while Zakuro remained wholly unconcerned._

_Then the doors opened again._

"_Looks like you're all having fun, hm?"_

_They immediately snapped to attention, each forming a Millefiore salute with their right hand and bowing respectfully._

"_Truly, you grace us with your presence here today," Kikyo murmured, gaze lowered to the ground._

_Byakuran laughed._

"_Well, I'm one of the players today, too, same as all of you." A glitter of something teasing shone in the man's violet eyes. "See? I even have a matching uniform and all. Doesn't that count for something?"_

"_You look so cool!" Bluebell cheered, breaking formation and tackling their leader in an enthusiastic hug._

"_Idjit, don't be so disrespectful!"_

_Mentally, Kikyo rolled his eyes. Just for a moment, though._

_Byakuran smiled._

…

"_We, the Funeral Wreaths of the Millefiore, are honored to be permitted to tread the battleground at your side, Lord Byakuran."_

* * *

There is only one shrine in Namimori, and the Namimori Shrine is a place I remember well.

(Each year we would visit the shrine to pray for good fortune in a new year, and each year we would leave the shrine a little burnt, a little smoking, a little charred, but always with radiant smiles on our faces and hopes of a brighter future ahead of us. Current circumstances were far from the ones I was used to associating with the shrine, and I couldn't help but look a little wistfully at the red _torii_ gates standing tall at the entrance.)

"Tsubaki?"

"Coming," I let none of my thoughts seep into my voice, simply turning and smiling placidly at Shouichi.

Choice.

Shouichi had explained the basic concept of Choice to us –a warfare game, one with the goal of capturing and destroying the enemy base in order to attain victory. In Byakuran's perversion of this game, soldiers and tanks would instead be replaced by _us_ and our box weapons, with the Vongola Rings at stake as the prize for victory.

Tri-ni-sette.

_(Endless are the boundaries of the restless Sea, limitless and timeless in eternal glory–)_

"What is that?"

"That's our base." A small hint of pride slipped into Shouichi's voice as he pointed at the tall structure sitting in the middle of the clearing. "We just managed to finish and move it here yesterday. Not too bad, right?"

Hayato gave the base a dubious look.

"Doesn't look too impressive," he said flatly.

"… Ah, I assure you, we did our best work on it." Shouichi scratched the back of his head nervously, though Hayato remained skeptical. "We really did!"

I bit back a small smile.

"Um, has anyone seen Yamamoto or Hibari this morning?" Tsuna glanced around, a small note of concern in his words.

"There's always the chance that they won't show up since they failed their training." The errant comment from his tutor had Tsuna flailing around and panicking while Reborn smirked.

(Just teasing him, then.)

(Trying to get him to relax a bit before we would be thrown into battle.)

"We've got Dying Will Flames approaching in our direction," Spanner suddenly spoke up. "It's closing in fast. In fact, it… according to the readings here, it should be right above–"

_Us._

Clouds. Dark clouds; heavy, unnaturally dark, slate-gray-bordering-pitch-black. The clouds swirled together above us, directly over our position, and–

An instinctive hiss slipped past my lips.

…

Of course.

Of _course_ Byakuran would do something like this, wouldn't he?

"_Hey there, everyone."_ An illusion? Some sort of contraption? … Whatever it was that was currently floating above us, it had been made in a near-perfect likeness of the white-haired monster's face. My hands itched to destroy it. _"Miss me much?"_

"Byakuran!"

"_Hm… I see that we're missing a few little children. Didn't I specifically remind you to make sure that everyone will be here today? Shame on you. Ah, well. You'll only be putting yourselves at a disadvantage."_

He laughed_._ My nails bit into my palms and drew blood.

"_Five million fiamma volts!" _Byakuran declared gleefully, _"This apparatus you see here is a Hyper-Flame Ring Transfer System that requires five million fiamma volts of power to activate and transport you all to the battleground for Choice. Think of this as a little… entrance test, to see if you are truly qualified for participating in today's little game."_

"… You're crazy," Shouichi was pale. "Five million fiamma volts? That's –that's _insane!"_

"Insane is a good way to put it," Spanner's low voice was barely audible, and it was only by virtue of standing next to him that I had heard him speak at all. "That's almost twenty times the output of Tsuna's X-Burner fired at maximum power…!"

"Twenty times the output of a X-Burner?" To the side, Giannini blanched and threw up his hands in a helpless gesutre, "Where in the world are we supposed to find a power source strong enough to produce that?"

"_Well, feel free to go ahead and start charging this device with those five million fiamma volts whenever you're ready." _I clenched my hands at the teasing, patronizing tenor in Byakuran's cheery tone. _"No pressure. It's just that… well, if you fail… I might be very upset, y'know, since I've been looking forward to this game for a long time. And when I'm upset, I might be forced to do something like _this."

Flames.

Flames, compressed into something akin to a beam of light, that fired from his eye and–

"What do you think you're doing, Byakuran?!"

Anger.

Potent anger.

An anger that I shared with Tsuna completely.

(He leveled the top of the northern mountains like that with his flame-beam to prove a _point._ To prove that he was the one who held the power here, that if we refused to play by his rules, we were helpless to stop him. He would destroy Namimori as easily as he had those mountaintops, in the literal blink of an eye.)

"_Whoopsies! I guess my face slipped." _Laughter, laughter, _laughter._ The laughter of an insane madman echoed around us. _"Now, let's get those flames burning, hm? It's almost time for our game to begin, and we wouldn't want to be late!"_

"Bastard," Hayato seethed, and I was in wholehearted agreement with him on that assessment of Byakuran.

"_Time is ticking,"_ the monster sing-songed, grinning brightly. _"When the light shining down on you right now disappears –it's going to be time up and game over for you all. Feeling scared, anyone?"_

… Scared?

Not a chance.

_Not a chance in hell, Byakuran._

"Not everyone is here yet," Tsuna's voice was unnervingly calm, and Byakuran looked at him with an appraising eye.

"_Nice to see you have a healthy respect for the rules, but are you sure you aren't just making up excuses for not being able to produce five million fiamma volts?"_

"No."

"… _Time is ticking."_

"They'll be here."

… Sometimes, it was hard to fathom the faith that Tsuna had in his family. In _us._ It was… humbling, in a way. Heartwarming, as well.

A streak of purple, closely followed by a bright blue blur, was all that registered in the corner of my eye before Tsuna suddenly pulled out his box weapon and lit his ring, and–

_Sky flames._

I followed, threading tendrils of my flames into his own, a brief millisecond before the others caught on and followed as well. The red-white flickers of Hayato's Storm flames easily blended into the soothing blue of Takeshi's Rain, swirling along the currents of Kyoya's Cloud, chased by Ryohei's Sun, darted around Lambo's Lightning, seeped into Chrome's Mist, and…

All mixing and intertwining with Tsuna's Sky in perfect harmony.

* * *

"_The field of battle will be 'Lightning.' Shall we proceed?"_

* * *

Smoke.

I twisted my body mid-air, landing lightly on my feet. My hand had instinctively reached out to steady the person beside me, and Chrome stumbled –thankfully not crashing directly into the g… rou… nd…?

No.

Not ground.

It was… rooftop. We were standing on an empty rooftop. The gray rooftop of a tall building, situated amongst…

…

… Where was this place that we had been transported to? Tall skyscrapers surrounded us on all sides, stretching out into the distance as far as the eye could see, colossal buildings that stood high above the asphalt ground. There was this sense of _wrongness_ lingering in the air, though, despite the relatively normal appearance of this large city. It didn't take long for me to pinpoint the source, because–

This metropolis was completely, utterly _empty._

The eerie stillness in the air carried a choking silence that was almost downright oppressive.

(I didn't like it.)

"Welcome!"

My eyes narrowed, lips thinning, but I was careful to hold myself very, very still.

_Byakuran._

Tsuna cast a quick, worried glance in my direction, before he was forced to turn his attention onto the white-haired monster striding towards us in easy steps, all carefree smiles and loping gait. He was flanked by five others, dressed similarly to him in black coats, but it would be foolish to think of them as simple subordinates.

_Millefiore Funeral Wreaths._

My gaze lingered on the red-haired Storm a little longer than the others.

(Certainly, I wasn't the only one who did so. The redhead all but _preened_ under our scrutiny, smirking confidently, a hint of challenge warring with bloodthirst in his eyes.)

"Ah, this is the first time we actually meet in person, right Tsuna? Although, it does feel like we've met each other a lot of times already." Byakuran gave a breezy laugh, before sweeping his hands out in a grand gesture and motioning to our surroundings at large. "This will be the stage for Choice –don't worry, it's completely empty. We are the only people here."

_I can't help but notice that you didn't specify _why_ this city is empty, Byakuran. How many people did you kill in order to create this 'stage?'_

I gave a small start when something brushed against my arm. Takeshi was still looking straight ahead at the Millefiore group, but it was unmistakable that he had just–

"Calm down." Chrome's voice was the bare ghost of a whisper. "It's… it's okay. We're okay."

_For now._

I sucked in a deep breath, feeling my pulse quicken, but forcibly relaxed my body into a much less aggressive stance –one that I hadn't even noticed myself slipping into, at that.

(Byakuran always had a way of making me lose my composure, a way of bringing out the worst in me.)

"Let's move on to the next event." The glitter of amusement in the monster's gaze gave rise to the urge to gouge out his eyes. If only it could be as easily done as it was said. "Come on, Tsuna, let's decide the players for our game."

A roulette. Something he called a gyro roulette, one where he and Tsuna both placed their palms against opposite sides and–

"_Choice."_

–and it spun.

The tiny black numbers blurred together for a single breathless moment, before gradually slowing and finally coming to a halt, standing still.

"Hm… a Sun, a Storm, and two Mists. Not too bad, if I do say so myself." Byakuran grinned cheerfully, "Although, you've got a pretty good draw there, Tsuna. A Sky, a Cloud, an Unaffiliated, and two Lightnings. Shame that one of them happens to be a child, eh? Now, before you go on protesting about it –I'll have you know that failing to provide the required number of players for the game will result in an automatic loss. The same as a forfeit, if you will. And we wouldn't want that to happen now, would we?"

Two Lightnings.

Me.

And.

_Lambo._

Tsuna's face was pale at the prospect of having Lambo step onto a potentially lethal battlefield, and he wasn't the only one with such sentiments. Logically, everyone had always known that there would be a chance that Lambo would be placed into a combat decision, but substituting someone else for the five year old should be simple–

Key word: _should_.

… Nothing was ever simple with Byakuran.

Two Lightnings. There were only two of us; there was no way to substitute Lambo with someone else.

"This is bad," Hayato muttered under his breath. "The idiot cow is just going to get in the way!"

(Harsh, but ever so true in this instance.)

Byakuran's lips curved into a wide smirk, "We'll be using the 'Target Rule' for Choice this time. Shouichi, you still remember what it means, right?"

"'One unit will be marked as the 'Target,' and only upon defeat or retirement of said unit will victory be granted to the opposing side.'" Shouichi rattled off the rule from memory without a second thought, before meeting the monster's gaze directly. "… Byakuran, the selection of participants for Choice refers to ring-bearers. Since I am not in possession of any rings right now, would I qualify as 'Unaffiliated?'"

A slight narrowing of the eyes. Then Byakuran tilted his head and smiled benevolently.

"I'll make an exception for you, Shouichi."

Shouichi. Shouichi was a good choice –he had a good head on his shoulders, and he would be able to operate all the machinery that was no doubt installed into the base. But, more importantly… _why?_ Byakuran would know this, he would _know_ that Shouichi would be a great asset to our side… so why allow him to take part in Choice, instead of forcing Kyoko or Haru into the spot? It… It was true that I was glad that the girls would be able to stay out of the battle, but…

_Just what is he trying to play at?_

"Now, time to select the targets." Byakuran clapped his hands together, and–

A shrill scream tore through the air.

_Lambo was screaming._

"Get it off get it off get it OFF!" The child wailed, voice choked with pain–

There.

On his chest.

Luminous green flames, crackling in a shimmering verdant haze over a black target marker imposed on his chest. The target was somehow forcibly drawing flames from his body and expelling it in a bright flare–

_Flames that he was fast running out of. Lambo was only a child, he didn't have the massive amount of flames that he would in the future. And after all the Lightning flames he had expended on the way here, activating that transport system, he wouldn't have much left, anyways. Children were _known_ for not having good flame capacities…_

"Stop it, you're killing him!" A note of sheer panic had entered Tsuna's voice as he whirled on Byakuran, the white-haired monster _who was still smiling._

"None can do, Tsuna," Byakuran chirped lightly, wholly unconcerned of Lambo's sufferings. "See the results of the gyro roulette? I have a Sun target, but you have a Lightning target –it's written in the rules. Unless you'd like to forfeit, of course, but that wouldn't be any fun now, would it?"

"… Lightning target, you say?" I said tonelessly, latching onto that particular wording and turning away from Lambo, crossing over to Tsuna's side in three long strides.

Violet eyes flickered in my direction.

"Change it to me." I stated simply, quietly. "I am Lightning as well. That's not breaking any of your rules, is it?"

"Hm…" Long, musing, teasing. I resisted the urge to scream. Byakuran tapped his chin in mock-thought, smiling slowly. "You really don't learn now, do you? I thought you would be glad that I allowed you to remain an active combatant for your game."

"You thought wrongly." I narrowed my eyes, and Byakuran laughed.

"Okay, okay! Mm, I guess I'll allow this too, then. Aren't you glad I'm feeling so generous today, Tsubaki?"

I hissed as something on my chest _twisted_ and started _pulling_ at my flames. _Violently._ If this was what Lambo had felt, with no warning whatsoever–

No wonder he had cried out in pain.

…

"–ki. Tsubaki? Tsubaki, _breathe."_

Breathe. I could do that.

I blinked for a moment, disconcerted by the burn in my lungs as I sucked in a small gasp of air.

(When had I stopped breathing?)

…

"She's fine, Juudaime." Hayato stepped back with a curt nod in Tsuna's direction. Tsuna, whose look of worry had yet to fade from his expression.

I smiled wanly.

"… I'm fine, Tsuna."

…

…

…

… _I'll be fine when this is all over. Maybe._

* * *

"_Tsubaki, Lambo, and I will stay here at the base. We'll coordinate you guys while you're out on the field, okay? And, um… H-Hibari, please, uh… please actually stick to our plan?"_

_Hibari glared at the red-haired herbivore, who gulped nervously._

"_I will fight whoever stands in my way," he stated plainly, and turned away, considering the conversation closed. The herbivore didn't get the hint._

"… _Well, yes, but would you mind, er, fighting someone after heading to a certain area?"_

_He narrowed his eyes._

"_You are asking me to cooperate with these herbivores?" He asked in a clipped tone, crossing his arms. 'Heading to a certain area' was not a particularly subtle way of saying, 'Follow orders and listen to directions.'_

_(Hibari flatly refused to be anyone's tool, no matter what the circumstances. He refused.)_

"_Oh gods, please stop being so difficult." The raven-eyed girl was still pale, but she seemed to have adjusted to the strain of the target marker she had taken upon herself. __(Why would anyone deliberately burden and weaken themselves like that? It was such a… herbivorous tendency.) "There's a lot at stake here, and we would really appreciate it if you would lend us your strength. If… oh, hell. I'll have a proper spar with you after this if you help us now. What do you say?"_

_Hibari glanced briefly at the tiny cow-child sleeping away on the chair, curled up and blissfully unconscious._

… _He was not an idiot. Even though they held a… numerical advantage, as opposed to the Millefiore, it was obvious that they couldn't depend on the cow-child to do anything, and the redhead was not much of a fighter, either. The girl was a decent challenge, but she was also the most vulnerable piece on the board, so to speak. If he refused to help, Sawada Tsunayoshi would be their only line of defense against the enemy –defeat would be all but certain, if that were the case._

_The enemy. _

_Four players. Three fighters, one target._

…

"_Do what you will. If anyone interferes with my fight, I will bite them to death." Hibari felt a twinge of irritation wash over him when the brown-haired herbivore let out another ridiculous 'hiiie'-ing sound. The redhead visibly relaxed at the roundabout concession, before taking out the map and showing them the basic layout of the terrain._

_He made sure to keep an eye on the raven-eyed girl sitting in the corner, who let a small, grateful smile slide over her lips. Then she set aside her sword and gently moved the cow-child into her lap._

_(The chair was cold.)_

"_Thank you," she said simply as he strode past her, to the hatch where his motorbike was being kept. He didn't bother to dignify it with a verbal response, and whereas the silver-haired loudmouth herbivore would've cursed up a storm behind him, the girl merely continued activating the detection systems with the redhead._

_It was almost as if she was familiar enough with him to expect this reaction, and wasn't perturbed by it in the least._

_If what she claimed was true –reincarnating through parallel worlds with memories intact– there was nothing he could do about it, really. Even if he felt unsettled with having a stranger know him so well._

_(… At least she didn't insist on calling him 'Kyoya' like that stupid blond herbivore who couldn't walk without tripping over his own two feet if none of his subordinates were nearby.)_

"_Three… two… one… move out!"_

_Much as it galled him to move according to someone else's instructions, somehow he… didn't mind it as much as he thought it would. Maybe it had something to do with the prospect of his prey today, then. The Millefiore Funeral Wreaths were rumored to be strong, and he himself had seen the Millefiore Storm soak his body in lava and look no worse for the wear. Who knows what else someone like that might be capable of?_

_Pulse quickening, blood singing in his veins, Hibari felt his lips curve into a primal grin when the redheaded herbivore's voice sounded in his earpiece, informing him of his incoming prey._

…

_Mist. _

_It was the Mist Funeral Wreath._

_… His misfortune, then. Hibari had never been particularly fond of illusionists; biting this one to death would serve as a nice warm up before searching for the Millefiore Storm._

* * *

"Hibari has just engaged in battle with Torikabuto. Tsuna will be encountering Saru shortly. How are the decoys holding up so far?"

I frowned.

"… They're getting destroyed pretty rapidly. We've still got a couple left, though, and those are spread out fairly widely from each other. It should take them awhile to reach those."

"Not exactly optimal, but we can work with that," Shouichi typed a series of commands into the terminal, and I finally gave up on trying to understand what he was doing. Technology was his area of expertise, not mine. "We have some defensive measures installed into this base, but the most we can hope for is for it to delay them if they get here. It won't be enough to stop them –so unless Tsuna and Hibari finish their fights quickly, we're going to have to get ready to move soon. How are you feeling?"

"… I'm fine." A small grimace, and the Lightning flames burning on my chest flared a little higher. I hurriedly coaxed my flames under control again, feeding the minimum amount I could into the black hole of a target marker to keep it burning. "It's… taxing. I can still fight, but preferably nothing too long or drawn-out. Sorry, but this body's flame capacity isn't that high."

Shouichi made a small sound of frustration in the back of his throat.

"No, no, I understand." He sighed, "It's not your fault."

"… Sorry," I ducked my head. "I know I would've been more useful if I hadn't offered to be the target, but Lambo…"

"You made the right decision," Shouichi reached over and gave my hair a small ruffle. I nearly bit through my tongue in surprise. "The target requires a large amount of flames to maintain in this burning state, and Lambo wouldn't have been able to sustain it for very long."

Unspoken was the '_he would die if he did'_ that we both heard loud and clear.

"… Do you think Byakuran planned this?"

"No." He immediately shook his head, "Choice is one of the few things that I know Byakuran won't cheat at, Tsubaki."

Truth be told, I was rather skeptical of that statement; regardless, I let it slide. There was no use in dwelling over what was a moot point by now.

"If you say so, then."

… At least Byakuran himself was sitting in the observers' area, not actively participating in the battle. It was the only silver lining that I could see to our current situation.

* * *

"_He's so weaaaaak."_

_Byakuran laughed as little Bluebell stretched out the word, sticking out her tongue at the collapsed figure on the screen. Genkishi was a good little tool, obedient and unquestioning… but like she said, he was much too weak to ever amount to anything._

_(In heart, as well as in body. Was it really any wonder that he had chosen Torikabuto over him to be his Mist Guardian?)_

_Tsuna was still frozen, staring at the withered husk of blooming Cloud-flowers in front of him. The corpse of what had been a living, breathing man in front of him mere moments ago. _

_Hm. Kikyo had really outdone himself, planting those seeds in Genkishi…_

"_Ah, that's no good."_

_Byakuran tilted his head back at the sound of his Cloud Guardian's voice. "Hm? What's no good now?"_

_The teal-haired man gave an apologetic bow. "Zakuro. He's been rather… enthusiastic, for this day. He appears to be disregarding the entertainment value of this game for you now, and going in directly for the kill."_

_A small hint of amusement. Byakuran found himself laughing again, "No need to apologize for something as trivial as that, Kikyo. It's all part of the game, isn't it? Besides, I'm sure that Shouichi and Tsubaki will be able to give a good show for us."_

_Shou-i-chi. His dear little traitor. Tsu-ba-ki. Dear little assassin _and_ traitor. It was always such fun to play around with her, though she never seemed very appreciative of it. Well, he probably wouldn't find it very amusing if he was in her position, either, but he couldn't help it! _

_It wasn't his fault, really, that it was _ever so much fun to play with her.

_(Bones breaking, ribs snapping. One by one by one…)_

_(One cut, two cuts. Blood dripping and pooling on the ground…)_

_(A stifled scream. And then another. And another. One, two, three, four, five fingers gone…)_

_But that wasn't the fun part._

_("Look. _Look._ Your precious little Sky… shall I gouge out his eyes and keep them as a trophy?")_

_Byakuran laced his fingers together under his chin and leaned forward, a small smile tugging at the edge of his lips as Zakuro wheeled to a stop midair, snapping his fingers–_

_The Vongola base was engulfed in a pillar of chaotic Storm flames._

"_Come on now, Shouichi… Tsubaki. You'll put on a nice show for us, won't you?"_

* * *

Movement.

To the right.

I pivoted on my heel and drew my sword, throwing all my weight behind the spin and lashing outwards. There was a blur of red, a roar of Storm flames, and I quickly flattened myself against the ground. Kicking out with my left leg and missing completely, I vaulted into a flip instead and landed in a low crouch, turning to face our attacker.

"Heh, ripping you to pieces will be fun." Byakuran's Storm Guardian bared his teeth towards me in a bloodthirsty grin. "Any last words before you die?"

Even though I knew it was dangerous to take my eyes off him, I let my gaze slip past his shoulder, to the smoldering ruins of what used to be our base unit–

_Shouichi. Lambo. They're under the wreckage, over there –safe. Good. That means the barrier I threw over them before making a break for it was strong enough._

"Not gonna say anything?"

I ducked under another slash of Storm flames, mind spinning. Tsuna had just defeated Genkishi and was moving on to the Millefiore target, while Kyoya's communication earpiece had gotten destroyed awhile back –no surprises there– but if all had gone well, he would be converging on the Millefiore target's position as well.

Until they finished taking out the Millefiore Sun, I needed to hold out here.

… Which was a lot easier said than done.

Surreptitiously, I checked my flame levels again. More than half of my flames had already been devoured by the target marker on my chest, which was… not good. Not good at all, especially considering the level of the enemy standing across the street from me.

… He wasn't standing there anymore.

I threw myself to the side, swiping out with my sword and very nearly succeeding in carving a deep gash into the Millefiore Storm's side.

"Vicious, eh?" He smirked, "Two can play that game."

_He's strong._

Pain exploded in my side, and I stumbled for a moment as I landed –before yanking hold of my flames and tamping it down, down, _down_. Down until it was nothing but a dull throb aching in my side, and I knew I would pay for it later. Using Lightning flames to control signals transmitted to pain receptors in the body was only a way to suppress the pain momentarily, not remove it completely.

Gunshot.

I whirled around, eyes widening when I saw Shouichi stumbling upright, holding a smoking gun in his hand. Lambo was still unconscious, carefully cradled in his other arm.

Byakuran's Storm Guardian made a clucking sound with his tongue.

"You want to die so badly, too? I can grant that."

I bolted.

My target flare flickered dangerously as I forced my body into a blur of Lightning-enhanced movement, channeling a good portion of my flames into my sword and _slicing_ upwards–

A sort of visceral, primal satisfaction reared its head in my chest when the force of the blow sent the Millefiore Storm crashing into the side of a building.

"Don't, Shouichi." I gave the redhead a warning look as he made to step forward, staggering slightly. "I can't fight him properly if I have to watch out for you as well."

"You shouldn't be fighting him at all!" There was something borderline-indignant in Shouichi's voice. "You're the target! If he–"

"The target flare is extinguished when I run out of flames. When a person runs out of flames, they die." I gave him a tired little smile, "It's going to take a lot more than something like this to kill me."

And… a-ha. There it was.

Shouichi literally blanched when he saw the contents of the small bottle that I took out of my pocket. "Is that–"

"Yes, it is." Uncorking it, I tapped out two of the red pills and swallowed them whole. Six left. Almost immediately, I could feel a small tug on the core of my body –forcing it into overdrive, and flames suddenly swirled throughout my body again. The world became unusually clear and sharp in my eyes, and I flexed my hands, letting myself adjust to the effects of the pill. "Don't give me that look, Shouichi. I know what I'm doing."

"No! Clearly, you have no idea–"

(I _know_ what I'm doing. I know this is dangerous –but what other choice do I have, other than stand and fight? If I run, I will be leaving Lambo and Shouichi in a vulnerable position here. This man is _Byakuran's_ subordinate; there is no doubt that if I leave, there will be nothing stopping him from killing them as a mere afterthought. Neither of them are fighters. Neither of them will be able to protect themselves properly from someone of this ruthless Storm's caliber.)

I flipped the tsurugi in my hand, holding it in a backhand grip, and _ran_. Lightning flickered, and I used the sudden burst of speed to leap forward, lighting the remaining three rings on my fingers and slamming it into my box weapon.

Just in time.

"You little _bitch."_ The battered Storm was towered directly in front of my face, his words coming out in a low growl. "I'm going to fucking _rip out your throat."_

"Try it," I taunted with false bravado, spinning on my feet and nearly slicing him in two.

(So close.)

He jumped, high into the air, flying upwards–

And I followed.

(Don't give him respite, don't give him room. Don't let him prepare a large-scale attack to spring on you. You're not going to survive the experience.)

"Kuro!" The black vulture's claws clamped down on my wrist, hard enough to draw blood, and abruptly coalesced into a writhing mess of feathery shadows. Stray sparks and tendrils of Lightning flames streaked down my arm, and the black wings expanded, twisting and extending and–

Flying.

(Flame-intensive technique? Yes. This was a gamble. If I couldn't run and hide from this Storm for fear of leaving Shouichi and Lambo exposed to danger, I would destroy him. I would destroy him, before he could destroy me.)

(Everything I have done up to this point… wasn't it for the sake of protecting everyone? What use would it be if we won the battle but everyone was dead?)

I turned a sharp angle in the air and circled above him, watching his eyes widen as shapeless wings of Lightning-enhanced darkness reached out and smothered him in a black coffin. Then I let my body drop into free-fall, verdant flames crackling along the length of my sword, and I stabbed downwards into the darkness with all the force I could muster behind me, feeling the blade tear through flesh and–

"_Die."_ I whispered, and cut a bolt of jagged emerald-white flames across the sky.

* * *

"_Wha… What the hell was that?!"_

"_I suppose that's the new technique she's been working on with her box weapon." Dino blinked rapidly, trying to get rid of the tiny spots of light dancing in front of his eyes. It wasn't particularly effective. "Looks rather impressive, doesn't it?"_

_Chrome made a small sound of concern. "Her flames…"_

"_She'll be fine. For now." Reborn's voice was short, clipped, and Dino couldn't help but frown. Had he missed something there?_

_On the screen, Tsubaki stumbled as she walked away from the smoke and debris behind her, the resulting crater that had been gouged into the Lightning-enhanced pavement ground. The shadows swirling around her coalesced back into the shape of a vulture, circling her once, twice, before returning back to the green box she held out in her hand._

'_Tsubaki!'_

_The raven-haired girl blinked at Shouichi, who was running towards her, worry etched into his face._

_She smiled._

_And then she doubled over, collapsing on her knees, and coughed out a mouthful of blood._

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Pretty long chapter this time, since we figured that people might like to actually get into Choice instead of settling for a "filler" chapter. Plus, it's the holiday season, so think of this as an early Christmas present from us to you in case we don't manage to update this story again before Christmas. ;3

… So. Y'know that question last chapter? The 4/5 question?

THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING SNEAKY AND UNDERHANDED ABOUT IT. AT. ALL. :D No really, it's probably the most straightforward question I've ever asked, haha. 4/5 is simply determining the number of combatants for Choice on the Millefiore side. xD

(In hindsight, I probably should've expected all the paranoia about 4 being symbolic of death and everything lol. The votes were actually pretty close –I think there was only one more vote for 4 than there was for 5, so that's what we ended up going along with. ;3)

The 4 lineup (as you already know) is Daisy, Zakuro, Torikabuto, and Genkishi v. Tsuna, Hibari, Shouichi, Lambo, and Tsubaki. Target: Originally Lambo, substituted by Tsubaki. The 5 lineup, on the other hand, was scheduled to be Kikyo, Zakuro, Bluebell, Torikabuto, and Genkishi v. Tsuna, Yamamoto, Squalo, Shouichi, and Tsubaki. Target: Shouichi.

Zuiyun and I wanted a fair shot for both choices –thus, the 4/5 question that freaked out so many people. Sorry. xD

**QUESTION(1): **Who would've changed their vote for 4/5 if we had put up the team lineups in the last chapter when it was first posted?

**QUESTION(2): **Do you prefer the usual ~4k long chapters or super-long chapters like this one? (Just think of this as an opinion poll, since we're not guaranteeing anything quite just yet. We will be taking your responses into consideration, though. xD)

**NOTE:** I've also posted a new Naruto story, featuring an Uzumaki!OC whose story will be following the fall of Uzushio and the start of the Second War: _Will You Still Be Here?_ The overall style is a little different from what I'm used to writing in, but there's a reason for that, considering what I have in mind for the OC. :D … Plus, it's nice to try my hand at something different. There's a tiny preview for the second chapter on my profile, if anyone happens to be interested.

I promise I'll be doing my best to focus on _Onwards Till Dawn_ no matter how sidetracked I get though, haha. ;3

Till next time~

-XxZuiliu


	22. Camellia Notes

.

. . .

**Camellia Notes**

. . .

.

* * *

.

**1\. Piano**

Tsubaki learned how to play the piano from Gokudera. The first song he ever played for her was "End of the Tempest Squall."

…

("Hey, hey, can you teach me how to play that?"

The silver-haired young man throws the girl a dubious look.

"Do you even know how to play the piano?"

"… No?"

Exasperated, Gokudera throws up his hands. To the side, Yamamoto laughs.)

…

* * *

.

**2\. Sing**

Despite knowing how to play the piano… well, that's about as far as Tsubaki's musical prowess goes.

…

("What the hell was _that?"_

"Singing."

"… Please just do us all a favor and _never_ try karaoke again- OW!")

…

* * *

.

**3\. Cooking**

Tsubaki made a meal for the Varia once (before the time she actually learned how to cook from Nana). It was the first and last time she ever set foot in their kitchen.

…

("Voi, what are you doing here?" the silver-haired swordsman eyes the young girl warily.

She blinks innocently, and smiles.

"Um, I think it's my turn to cook today-"

"FUCK NO.")

…

* * *

.

**4\. Sword**

Tsubaki doesn't fight with a sword because she is skilled with it. At least, not in the beginning.

…

("You, my friend, have a long way to go."

"I know, right?" the blue-eyed girl laughs helplessly, awkwardly holding a straight-edged sword in her hands. "Sorry, sorry."

"What brought this on, anyways?" the green-haired man casts a critical gaze over the young girl, pursing his lips. "Aren't you fine with using that custom-made gun of yours? God knows that's one sweet baby you've got there."

"… I don't know what you're talking about."

"Look, Tsubaki–"

"Is this about how I'm not good enough?" she suddenly broke in, "I promise I'll work harder, I promise I'll–"

"No. It's… well… you're decent, I'll give you that. But that's all you are –_decent._ At this rate, if you ever want to become a truly skilled swordsman, it'll take you an entire _lifetime._ I don't get it; why the hell are you insisting on learning how to use a sword you have no real aptitude for when you're talented with guns?"

The girl's shoulders stiffen for a moment, before she forcibly relaxes her body and waves off his words. "Don't you worry your pretty head about that, V. Time is of no concern to me; I _need_ to do this, if I want an edge to fight Byakuran with… something he can't predict about me.")

…

* * *

.

**5\. Name**

Before she learned to respond to 'Tsubaki,' she had a different name. She just doesn't remember it (nor does she remember even having a different name in the first place, really).

…

(_Where am I?_

White. White floor, white walls, white ceilings.

_Head. Hurts. It huRtS. _

"Are you feeling any better now?"

_Who-?_

Violet eyes. Smiling. He was familiar familiar _familiar,_ but why couldn't she remember any–?

_Forget. Forget forget forget. Forget everything._

"Who are you?" she rasps quietly, and the young man's smile widens a touch.

"Hm. So you really went and did it, huh?" he laughs, "Try a different question. Who are _you?"_

_I am I am I–_

_R–_

–

…

_?_

…_?_

… _hurts._

_IT. HURTS._

"Whoa there," the violet-eyed white-haired boy reaches out a hand to gently rest atop her head, and suddenly the pain disappears. "Well. I suppose… if you really want to know… I'm Byakuran, and you –you're Tsubaki. We are both of the Gesso Famiglia."

"We are…?"

The boy's eyes glinted.

"Yes, we are.")

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

I made a **Tumblr** account recently! Link is on my profile. :3 I'll be posting random snippets of what I've been working on now and then, so feel free to check it out or ask questions there. Currently, there's only a short snippet of what I've written for _Memento Mori _–y'know, the parallel world/time travel Tsuna-centric fic whose summary has been up on my profile for aaaages. = w=

Also, I'd like to apologize for not mentioning in the last update about the 2-month hiatus. I posted a notice on my profile as soon as I realized we weren't going to be getting any further in _Onwards Till Dawn_ anytime soon, but I didn't post a new chapter here with a hiatus announcement –mostly because I figured no one would appreciate getting their hopes up for a new update, only to find a short AN instead. So instead, we have somewhat of a short trivia page here. ;3

Any thoughts?

If all goes well, the next chapter of the story will be up soon. If not, uh… um, thank you all very much for your patience. :'D Warning: It's going to be kind of messy and confusing. So. Yeah. Just a bit of a heads up here. xD

Till next time~

-XxZuiliu


	23. 02: 8 Edge of a Forgotten Truth

_Something was wrong._

_He didn't… he didn't know what it was exactly, but this unsettling feeling in the back of his mind, coupled with the nausea already churning in the pit of his stomach, it… it felt almost as if it was part instinct, part intuition; even though he couldn't quite put a label as to where this feeling came from, not exactly, he _knew_ that there was something– there was something– something that was–_

_Something was wrong._

Wrong.

_He hesitated, and ahead of him, Hibari glanced back briefly. There was a hint of irritation mixed with reproach in the older boy's face directed towards him for stopping when they still had the Millefiore Sun to bite to death._

_(Tsuna resisted the urge to cringe. Although, judging by the quiet scoff that the older boy gave as he looked away, he wasn't entirely successful in this endeavor–)_

_A flash of green. _

_A flash of green lit up the sky as a flame-edged lightning bolt streaked down from the sky, and Tsuna instinctively whirled around in its direction, feeling his jaw drop–_

_Wait. That direction. Wasn't it…? _

_Tsuna's eyebrows furrowed slightly._

_Wasn't that where their base was? The lightning, was it right above their base? Those flames…_

_Lightning._

Lightning flames.

… _Tsubaki? (Not Lambo; Lambo wouldn't–) But she was the _target_, wasn't she? The target marker already consumed flames at an alarming rate; pulling off something like this on top of that was… was… it was _insane!

_(And even now, his intuition was still insisting that there was something wrong, wrong, _wrong._)_

_(Hurry.)_

_(Hurry, before it's too late.)_

"_Hibari-san, please head on without me." His voice was calm. Why was it calm? He felt anything _but _calm right now, not after fighting with blood pounding in his ears, not after seeing someone _die_ right before his eyes. (Genkishi was an enemy, yes, but he didn't deserve to die_,_ not like… not like that. No one deserved to die like that, not with Cloud-flowers twisting and tearing and _devouring flesh _before bursting into crimson bloom–)_

_And yet._

_And yet, despite this insidious feeling creeping up inside him, there was something else as well. Something that almost felt like steel as it enclosed around his heart, solidifying his resolve as he made his decision. _

"_I'm going to go back to them, Hibari-san. There's… I can't really explain it, but I _know _there's something wrong. Sorry for leaving you to do this on your own, but…"_

…

_(Please be alright.)_

…

* * *

I blinked.

_Focus._

Small breaths.

One, two, three.

Focus, focus, _focus._

Just keep breathing.

Ignore the blood.

Just.

_Breathe._

I exhaled slowly.

"… I'm alright."

"No you're not!" A worried hand seized my shoulder, and the redhead's voice was riddled with a mix of indignant worry and panicked concern. "How can you even _say that right now–"_

"I'm _fine, _Shouichi," I stressed again, before wincing almost immediately afterwards at the raspy sound of my own voice. The hoarse and frail quality to my words really weren't doing me any favors at the moment –and, come to think of it, neither was the blood still trickling down the corner of my mouth. A corner of my mind idly filtered through Shouichi's words without really registering any of them as I wiped away the excess blood with the back of my hand.

In all honesty, this condition it… wasn't entirely unexpected, but the side-effects … they _weren't supposed to show up so soon_. But then again, considering all these disastrous situations I'd been getting myself into lately, was it really any surprise that the drug's symptoms had revealed themselves so early?

Numbness.

(Right now, mild paralysis on top of blood loss. My body was refusing to move. But it didn't matter –_it didn't matter_. Remember. I had to _remember_.

I had to remember that this body was only a human puppet made of flesh and bone, pulled along by strings of electric signals sent from the brain. Pain was irrelevant. Pain could be blocked out, ignored –for a certain period of time. Electric signals could be manipulated. Not forever, but it was entirely possible in this moment to just _concentrate_ and bring everything under control again.

I just had to focus. Focus. _Focus. _And.)

_Stand up._

I slowly forced myself up to my feet again, obstinately ignoring Shouichi's protests against the movement.

A quick glance downwards revealed flickers of green still dancing over the black target mark on my chest. Good. Even though the Lightning flames weren't quite as strong as before, it would still do for now, considering that Tsuna and Hibari had most likely already began launching their assault on the Millefiore base at this point. I could still sustain this flame for awhile before being driven to the edge of taking another pill again–

Ah.

How strange.

I blinked.

Strange. Right now, I was acutely aware of the delicate control I held over my Lightning flames, delicate and careful and precise manipulations that kept my body moving along invisible strings, sparks of flames that allowed the target flame to continue burning. It was still burning, wasn't it? Yes, it was still burning. I hadn't run dry of flames yet, and I could even _feel_ the net of Lightning threaded through my body. So why was it that my body wasn't responding anymo–?

"_Tsubaki!"_

Horror.

Shock.

Fear.

…

I…

… I… I still didn't quite register the full range of emotions bleeding into Shouichi's ear-piercing shout, but I _did_ register the sudden rush of movement, a sudden whirl of air around me that signified being bodily picked up and _thrown_ in a clinical, detached corner of my mind. A sliding sensation somewhere in my abdomen, something I quickly numbed –a hand? I knew what it felt like to have a clawed hand dig in and–

There was a sickening snap of bone somewhere around my ribcage as I collided against a concrete wall, but it didn't hurt.

It… didn't hurt.

(_Wouldn't_ hurt, not until I released the frail strings that still tugged this body along the swings of empty movements–)

"Huh, didn't think you would still be standing." Blood loss? Was I… seeing things? His skin, it was _red– _"You might've managed to get the drop on me with that stunt you pulled just now, but it's useless against someone of my caliber."

There was a hole in his chest. No, no. There was a _box_ embedded in his chest.

"See this?" The Storm Funeral Wreath smirked, "This is Lord Byakuran's gift to us, something easily a hundred times better than any box weapon you have up your sleeve. Nice try, but it's _game over_ now, girl."

"S-Stay away from her!"

(I can't, I can't, I can't let it fall. But I can't do this. Yes I can. Can't. Can. It's impossible but not but I just can't–)

"Get out of the way unless you have a death wish, Irie," the Storm's voice drawled carelessly. "Otherwise I'll just kill you as well, friend of Lord Byakuran's or not."

"Tsubaki, run! I'll hold him off!" Shouichi snapped out towards me, but those were just nonsensical sounds that blurred together in my ears. "Hurry, before–"

… Stand… up.

(–see. I can't see. Redred**red** so much red I don't know if it's Storm or blood but I just hope it isn't–)

"Tch, you're really blind, aren't you? Didn't you see what I just did? She won't be moving anymore, not with a hole through her body like that–"

… Stand up.

"The Great Lambo demands to know what's going on! Crazy lizard-man, why are you bullying the Great Lambo's servants?"

"Shut up, brat."

_Stand up._

"Meanie meanie _meanie!"_

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

(–like last time. Not like last time; last time I watched as he was ripped apart in front of my eyes and I couldn't–)

_STAND UP!_

"Must… to-le-… le… w… waAAAAAH!"

(–do anything. Lightning fills the air and the wave of red recedes, but it's just for a moment and he knows and she knows and I know I know all too well that and then we all know it won't–)

"… Tsubaki. Tsubaki?" Something akin to horror in his eyes. Shouichi, Shouichi, Shouichi I'm not a _monster, _I promise I'm not. "Tsubaki, what… how in the world are you still… _what did you do to yourself? _Like this, y-you shouldn't even be _moving, Tsubaki–_"

(–respond. It's not my name. It's not my name. It's not my name not my name it's just another one of Byakuran's cruel jokes I hate the monster but I can't I don't know I don't remember when have I ever been called anything else what is my name who am I what am I doing why can't I just die–)

"Lambo can't keep something like this up for long," an echo, voice above-water-surface falling to the riverbed rocks. I moved my lips into the appropriate shapes, moved my mouth, used my voice, but something was wrong with my ears. I couldn't _hear_. But I could still move. That was enough. "Shouichi, we need to–"

"_What the hell?"_

Tug on the strings, _move._ I would've grimaced had I been able to at flinging my leg at the Storm's head in a suicidal move that amounted to little more than throwing a lump of flesh at a predator, but for once, luck was on my side. He had frozen in surprise when he caught sight of me, and though it lasted for all of a single second, one second was all I needed to let my foot connect to his face in a snapping kick, one that sent him flying in a mimicry of what he had done to me moments earlier.

Minus the hole in the stomach, of course. I didn't bother glancing down, knowing what I would see–

(–bloodblood_**blood**–_)

"_Bitch,"_ the Millefiore Storm bared a bloodthirsty grin. "Lord Byakuran warned us we might be seeing something like this from you, but hearing about it and seeing it… well. Luckily for me_–"_

He reached out with a hand and what the hell was that strange ring on his finger why–

PAIN.

Lightning flames crackled and snapped from my body in erratic bursts as I fell and everything spiraled into absolute chaos; the reigns of control were just _wrenched out_ from underneath my very fingertips and blood and pain and lightning tearing through my body in violent pulses and _what the hell–_

"Lightning flame distortion device, specifically tailored for this little trick of yours," the redhead stated ever so casually, and –PAIN. I bit down on my tongue and tasted blood as he drove his heel down into my back– "Lord Byakuran told use to use this if you ever started using your flames to control body movements in battle. Judging by this reaction of yours… heh, Lightning flames were all that kept you even standing, weren't they?"

…

…

…

… Tsubaki.

Tsubaki?

Tsubaki, can you hear me? Just hang on here. We can do this; Tsuna is already on his way. Tsubaki? Tsubaki, if you can hear what I'm saying right now, please–

Get out of the way, Irie.

No, I won't. Y-you can't –argh!

You'll find that I can do whatever I want, Irie. Now…

…

… Pffft, what's this? Instead of trying to keep yourself alive with your flames you're just using them to keep that target burning? Idjit.

…

(Can't can't can't die. Not now not yet it's not I just can't–)

Die.

…

…

…

* * *

…

_Somewhere, there is a light-filled room with marble floors, lined by pristine white pillars that spiral ever-upwards_.

…

* * *

…

* * *

"… no."

It's a soft whisper that falls from her lips when she comes across the scene, and for a moment, Yuni is frozen in her tracks, disbelieving of what she sees before her eyes. Because…

Because she had glimpsed into the future before, and _things weren't supposed to turn out this way_. They _weren't_.

For one, Tsubaki wasn't supposed to die.

_She wasn't supposed to die._

Yuni had seen it, in one of her visions –raven-haired raven-eyed Tsubaki standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the rest of the Vongola Famiglia, while Byakuran and his Funeral Wreaths loomed before them. It wasn't in this place, not a cityscape. She wasn't completely sure of it, but the surroundings in her vision had felt more… organic. Natural. A forest, perhaps?

Whatever the case, the final battle definitely wasn't situated in a metropolitan area; which was why she knew that this Choice match was _not_ their last stand.

It _wasn't_.

She closed her eyes.

… _Another one._

_Another person I've failed to save. I'm… sorry, Tsubaki. I'm so sorry. You've suffered so much for us, and… and still…_

…

_I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But if this goes well –we can still do this. We can still stop Byakuran. So… thank… thank you, for your sacrifice._

_Thank you._

_Thank you, Tsubaki._

_Thank you for helping us, until the very end._

Yuni sucked in a deep breath and squared her shoulders, before stepping out into the light.

"I object!"

* * *

…

_Somewhere, there is a light-filled room with marble floors, lined by pristine white pillars that spiral ever-upwards. _

_At one end of the room, there is a set of doors: _

_Gold and crystal and dull embers embedded in gleaming rhinestones. _

_At the other end, there is another set of doors: _

_Silver and obsidian and glittering frost wreathing ornate handles._

_But…_

_But something is different, now._

_Something is different, off, _unnatural _about the room this time. Something is _wrong. _The marble floors have gained an almost-transparent quality to them and flicker from time to time, revealing the asphalt ground of the physical plane below with something of a mirage-like effect. Looking upwards, one can see that the white pillars are pristine only in color, for they are cracked and crumbling down, down, down._

_It's falling apart._

_The room is falling apart; slowly, slowly, slowly… falling apart and scattering until it disappears._

_Look up._

_The golden gates are locked._

_And._

_The silver gates are now open._

… _But it's strange. Strange. Because where there had once been absolutely nothing before, there is now a chair sitting in the middle of the hazy gray room. And upon that tall chair, reclines a little girl in white, who smiles._

Hello, sister,

_she says._

Why didn't you respond to any of my messages?

I've been waiting here a long time for you.

But it's good that you're finally here now –just in time.

_A soft sigh falls from the delicate little girl's lips as she sweeps out her hands in a grand gesture, a regal gesture that is completely at odds with the youth of her features._

Time. Oh, how time flies.

It's time, sister.

_The little white-dressed girl stands up and walks over, holding out her hand to me. I… I stare at it uncomprehendingly, unsure of her intentions. Because this room, it's something that I'm familiar with. This is the room that heralds death; I can still recognize this place, fragmented as it is in its current state. _

… _But the silver doors had always been locked; the golden gates had been the doors to stride through. Why reverse the order this time? Why is there someone else here?_

_What is going on?_

My poor, poor, sister.

_The little girl shakes her head pityingly._

You've sacrificed so much for the children of this world, you know.

… _What?_

But it's okay, your Trial is over now. You don't have to suffer anymore.

_Her hand is still outstretched in front of mine. Warmly, patiently, invitingly._

_She smiles._

Come back with me –our brothers and sisters are still waiting for our return.

Come back with me, sister.

Come home.

_And, funny thing is… I believe her._

_I have never seen the girl before, I don't even know who she is, and yet, her words echo and resonate with something inside me. It's strange. It… it burns within me like a fervent desire, a long-awaited wish being granted at long last, blossoming wings curling from my back as a painful yearning for something… something… _home. _Home is warmth and safety and rest, and god knows how badly I want to stop fighting, stop resisting, just lay down my head and _rest_; so why… why…_

… _Why can't I take her hand?_

_I want to._

_Reach out, take her hand, and the pain will disappear._

_I want to._

… _Don't I?_

_So why?_

_Why won't my hand… move? Unless…_

…

… _No. _

_No. _

No.

_Fuck, what in the world is going on? I need to go back –I _need_ to go back. The room is crumbling upon itself; that means it hasn't fully manifested. So I'm not dead. _I'm not dead._ I can't be dead; not now, of all times. Not at this juncture in time, not when so much is at stake, not when–_

_Not when they need me._

_Not when my family needs me._

_Not when the threat of Byakuran hangs above us all, not when this is the finale and I need to–_

Sister.

_The little girl's voice is sharp. Her other hand comes up to cup the side of my face, ghosting over my skin, forcing me to look in her eyes –and they're so empty, empty, _empty_; soulless creature, dried husk faking emotion, devil in disguise, how could I ever have thought for even a moment that she–_

Sister.

Listen to me.

_Her lips thin, and she very carefully enunciates each syllable of her next words. _

You don't need to do this.

This is only a Trial.

_The little girl draws back ever so slightly after saying this._

I believe you have fully proven yourself worthy of what was gifted to you.

So.

Come home now.

_Why? Something is… suspicious about this. Why the insistence on 'coming home?'_

Because this world is falling apart, don't you know?

It will be destroyed.

If you are here when that happens, then you too will be destroyed, along with everything else of this world.

… _Destroyed?_

Oh, silly sister.

You know the World-Destroyer.

_The little girl shakes her head and sighs tiredly._

Byakuran.

The Destroyer's name is Byakuran.

Does that ring any bells for you, sister?

_What._

_WHAT._

_Itcan'tbeitcan'tbeIwon'tletithappenIwon'tIWON'T. I won't allow this. I won't. Let. It. Happen. I won't let Byakuran succeed, I won't let him destroy us all, I can't–_

Sister.

_The little girl's voice has regained an edge of harshness._

Sister, listen to me.

This is not our world.

THIS IS NOT OUR WORLD.

… '_Not our world?'_

No. This is not our world. Don't you _remember,_ sister?

This is merely the stage of your Trial.

'_Not our world?' 'A stage?' Don't– don't just lump me with you however you please; I need to go back. I _need _to go back. I can't be dead, I can't leave them; Tsuna and the others, they– they need me. They need me. They're going to be facing Byakuran and I can't just sit back and let them–_

You do not need to die for them, sister.

…

_No._

_I've died for them a thousand times; I'll die for them a thousand more._

Aren't you _listening_, sister?

_There is irritation laced in the little girl's voice now._

Sister, this world is going to be _destroyed._

If you stay here, then you will be destroyed along with _everything else in this world._

Surely you would not wish for that to happen?

_I don't care. _

_I don't care if I die. _

_I can't –I just can't let them die; I _can't–

YOUR TRIAL IS OVER.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO PROTECT THEM ANYMORE.

COME HOME, SISTER.

COME HOME BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE.

_A hand. A white palm, right before my eyes. Grasp the hand, and there will be no need to fight anymore –no need for struggle, for pain, but…_

_I can't._

_I can't do this._

_I can't turn my back on them, not when they need me._

_I _won't.

_(I… I promised, didn't I? 'So long as you still have need of me, I will always stay by your side.' So I won't give up. I _won't._)_

SISTER, DON'T BE SO FOOLISH–

"Now, I believe that's enough."

I gave a small start and spun around violently at the sudden voice that sounded behind me –a male voice, one that was vaguely familiar, almost as if I had heard it only in passing, but–

_I hadn't –had there really been someone else in this room as well? But how in the world– who would–_?

YOU.

The little girl's face twisted into an icy mask of fury as she regarded the newcomer –a man whose face was hidden behind a checkered mask and wore an iron hat atop his head.

YOU, LAST GUARDIAN OF–

"I said, _enough."_ The checker-masked man interrupted serenely, and the little girl fell silent, glaring."I do believe you overstep your bounds, Gate."

_I_ overstep my bounds?

The little girl's voice was deadly quiet.

No.

It is _you_ who oversteps their bounds.

Why will you not allow my sister to return home with me?

"She does not appear to want to," the man pointed out pragmatically, and the little girl immediately whirled upon me, soulless eyes blazing.

Sister, come.

(Last chance.)

…

I didn't move.

The little girl frowned.

Sister, _come._

"… No," I shook my head and took a step back from her, a step away from her empty promises of freedom and safety. "I won't go with you."

(No. I won't abandon them.)

Sister, you don't _understand! _

You _must_ come, before it's too late and we can't–

"Didn't you hear your sister the first time?" The man folded his gloved fingers over the steel rod he carried in his hands. "She does not want to go back with you–"

You will regret this.

_You will regret this._

Ensnaring my sister here with your silly traps, silly bonds, when you _know_ your world will fall–

"It won't," the masked man stated simply, confidently, and for a moment, I couldn't help but wonder where his confidence came from when my sister –when this little girl in white, seemed so convinced that Byakuran would succeed in destroying the world.

… Which he _wouldn't,_ not if I had any say about how things went.

You _dare–_

"Now leave and be gone, Gate." The man reached out in the air and flipped his palm so it was face-down, before _pressing_ and–

And she disappeared.

Almost as if shoved off the edge of a cliff by an invisible hand, the girl abruptly stumbled and fell off her throne and _disappeared_ into nothingness as soon as the man's words rang through the air, glass bells and bronze wind chimes in perfect harmony all at once.

And before my mind could even begin registering the–

"Now, as for you…"

Although the gaze hidden behind the checkered mask was inscrutable, something about the man's voice was contemplative.

He sighed.

"Little lady, I truly appreciate that you've chosen to stay here, but you'll forgive me if I wonder what you choice you would've made had you truly remembered your circumstances," he mused, and something in me ran cold at those words. Because as much as I wanted to deny what he said, because _of course I remember that Tsuna and the others are still back there, fighting against Byakuran and what sort of friend would I be if I turned my back on them, _there was also something about the way he said it, something in his intonation that just _echoed_ and _resonated_ and–

(I don't get it.

It should be simple, clear, but I just couldn't–

_Why can't I remember?)_

"I will give you a key to your memories, when this is over," the man with the iron hat finally said. "The benefits now outweigh the risks, considering… well. If Byakuran is stopped, I suppose it's a moot point, but, really –you're not doing anyone any favors by remaining ignorant any longer. Haven't you grieved long enough already?"

"… I have no idea what you're talking about," I took a small half-step backwards, frowning. "Look, I know –I know I'm probably not entirely sane, not anymore, but I assure you that my memory is perfectly fine–"

"Is that so?" A single step, and suddenly the man was just _there,_ right in front of me and way too close and– "Let me ask you this: Do you know who I am, little lady?"

The sudden question caught me completely off-guard, and my eyes narrowed.

"… I've never met you before."

"No, you have," he countered placidly. "Even before I approached you under disguise mere weeks ago in this lifetime of yours, we have encountered each other many times before. You do not remember who I am. What about yourself, then? What's your name, little lady?"

(What? I would most certainly _remember_ if I'd met someone like _him _before… just what in the world was he trying to get at here, asking these questions?)

"Tsu–"

"_Your name, little lady," _his voice cut clearly across mine, silencing my answer. "_Your_ _name, not the one Byakuran chose for you."_

"What do you mean, I'm–"

_(__Ah, you go by 'Tsubaki' in this world, don't you? Haha, I still remember when I deliberately picked out that name for you. 'The flower that falls at the height of its splendor' –it suits you very well, doesn't it?)_

(Byakuran's words, the claim he made.

I faltered.)

"… I…"

Blank. Nothing. I reached into my mind for what I knew, for my name, my identity, and all I grasped hold of was… nothing. Nothing, which couldn't be right; how could something like this even be–

"Why do you protect the Vongola Decimo and his family?"

–forgotten in the first place, anyways?

This question, though, this I knew.

"They're my friends –they're my family, of course I would always–"

"But why?" the masked man pressed on, stressing the last word."I understand that you feel the bonds you've forged with them are important, which fuels your desire to keep these children safe, but what made you approach the Vongola Decimo and his family in the first place? Why them, and not, say… the Giglio Nero?"

"You don't understand," I shook my head. "I mean, of course I care for Yuni and Gamma and the others, but… it's not the same. It's just… it's not the same."

(A small, strangled laugh, and I shrugged helplessly.

Somehow knowing and not knowing, able and unable to put anything into words.)

"We've gone through so much together; I can't even begin to–"

"You've forgotten," he stated, voice edged with something that was half-finality and half-pity, but _I didn't need pity, I didn't need him telling me I couldn't trust my own mind, that I couldn't _remember,_ because of course I remembered all those times when–_ "It's a bit of a shame, really, to see you reduced to such a sad state. You would've been great, if you hadn't… but I suppose that's humans for you. And in the end, no matter how much your kind tries to elevate yourselves, you're all still just human in the end."

… He wasn't making any _sense,_ and at this point, I had just about had enough of this_._

"If you're going to do nothing but go around speaking in riddles," I folded my arms across my chest, "Then I am obliged to inform you that I _don't have time to be playing games with you_. They need me –Tsuna and the others, they're still fighting; I need to be with them and–"

"Very well," the man inclined his head ever so slightly, acquiescing with surprisingly little opposition. I stumbled for a moment, caught off-guard by the sudden change in attitude. "We shall continue this conversation at a different time, then."

… _That,_ I was definitely not looking forward to. This man… he was _dangerous,_ not in the insane-dangerous way that Byakuran was, but in a quiet-dangerous way instead, something that was infinitely greater and–

The world began to fade.

(A moment of pale translucency. And then the gray pillars flickered like static, the marble floor split apart, and suddenly there was an inky darkness oozing through the cracks that reached up with wailing hands that pulled and _pulled_ and tore everything asunder.)

"I do believe that I am looking forward to seeing you awaken," the masked man mused softly, chuckling. "I've always wondered what it would be like if you, R–"

Darkness overtook my vision, and I knew no more.

* * *

…

…

…

* * *

…

_There is a white room, filled with light, that stands as the crossroad between two worlds, watched over by the guardian Gate, the angel of the border. _

_Or at least, there used to be a room –before the crossroad was destroyed; for only could the destruction of both worlds be avoided if the bridge between them dissolved. Only then would there be the guarantee of one world walking away safe and unharmed, while the other was left to its demise._

…

* * *

… Sister, you are a _fool. _

What makes you think that this world is worth staying behind and dying for?

* * *

…

…

…

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

**EDIT 3/06:** First fanart for _Onwards Till Dawn,_ drawn by **AsphaltandBlackberries**. :D Link is up on my profile -go check it out! Very bone-chilling and very awesome. :3

* * *

**EDIT 3/07:** Scribbled a random sketch of Tsubaki myself. xD Link is on my profile, too~

* * *

Author's Notes:

As of this chapter, we have officially broken 100k words. :'D I feel so proud.

I'm still not sure when we'll get to regular updates again. = w= Sorry. But RL comes first, so please be patient until we manage to figure this thing out again. Updates might be fast, might be slow –I honestly have no idea how it's going to turn out, so please just bear with us in the meantime.

Feel free to ask questions if you have any –I know this section was probably pretty confusing to plow through, haha. I'll try to clarify things as best I can, but I reserve the right to remain silent if it treads over into spoiler territory. :3

Clarification: Tsubaki comes from a different world, one that is connected to the KHR one. However, since the KHR one is on verge of being destroyed by Byakuran, she is being called back to her world by Gate, the little girl in white, so their world can detach themselves from the KHR one to avoid being destroyed as well. Tsubaki refuses to go back with Gate, so she is stuck in the KHR world –permanently. In this timeline, at least. xD

So… Tsubaki doesn't-quite-die, and Kawahira kinda-plays-counselor. Next chapter might reach the final battle, which should be interesting, no? xD Man, I didn't realize we were so far along into the Future arc already… or maybe it's just the hiatus that's kind of getting to me, I guess.

**QUESTION(1): **Looking for new cover for the story. Anyone have any suggestions of what they think would be a good fit? :3

**QUESTION(2): … **Actually, this second question is completely unrelated to the story this time, but. Well. Since I've gotten introduced to it lately and am kind of obsessing over it so… Would anyone be interested in seeing a Psycho-Pass fic from me? :D Just. Out of curiosity. xD

Till next time,

-XxZuiliu


	24. 02: 9 Hide

_Logically, he knew that she should be dead._

_It just –it wasn't _possible,_ to survive having a hole carved through your torso the way the Millefiore Storm had done to Tsubaki, and… and, more importantly–_

–_her flames had gone out. _

Her flames had gone out.

_The small crackles of green lightning flickering on her chest had just outright disappeared altogether after that final strike, when Zakuro had released a pillar of Storm flames directly over her body at point-blank range. All things considered, it was a damn near miracle that her body was still intact as it was. Especially considering the footage Byakuran had shown them before, the recording of when the Storm had incinerated his hometown in a hellish inferno, razing everything to the ground._

_(Something to do with the solidifying properties of Lightning flames? A last-defense mechanism of sorts? Some technique shared among those of the Assassins Guild? Even if he couldn't quite explain it, Dino was… relieved, that the Storm flames hadn't whittled her body to the bone.)_

…

_Tsuna had arrived mere heartbeats after Tsubaki had fallen, tearing down from above with Sky flames wreathing his fists and fire-amber-eyes burning brightly, and–_

_(Truly, there are few things scarier than seeing a protective Sky enraged like that.)_

_And then Yuni had arrived._

_Yuni._

_Yuni, the Arcobaleno of the Sky._

The Arcobaleno of the Sky,_ who formally declared her withdrawal from the Millefiore. And then turned around immediately afterwards, asking for protection from Vongola._

… _Things only degenerated even further from that point onwards. _

_Still, Dino admitted to himself that Yuni's arrival was most certainly a timely one. By declaring the Choice match null and void, there was no longer any sort of need for Tsuna and his Guardians to give up their Vongola Rings to Byakuran. No need to forfeit a corner of the Tri-ni-sette to the white-haired madman._

_That was, perhaps, the only silver lining to their current situation. Or at least, it was the only one that he could currently see._

"_Hurry! Hurry, we need to–"_

_Right now, they had just returned to Namimori. _

_Tsubaki was still alive –she was still _alive, _that tenacious young girl. Inwardly, Dino shook his head in amazement, marveling –truly, the stubbornness that she possessed was not unlike Kyoya's own. And speaking of which, Kyoya had already run off by himself to check on the school, so he would be taking Romario to go after the willful boy. Much as he wanted to be able to stay and ascertain Tsubaki's situation for himself, he knew that she would be in good hands with the rest of the Vongola present. Reborn and Ryohei were both Sun users, so they'd be able to make sure Tsubaki would be alright. _

_After all, if she had managed to hang on this long already, then it was a clear sign that there was still hope for recovery._

_(The last thing they needed right now was another death weighing down on their minds. They still had to concentrate on their enemies; no one could afford to be distracted when going up against the Millefiore Funeral Wreaths._

"_Romario, come!" Dino called out sharply, "We're going after Kyoya."_

_Romario, bless that man, didn't ask any questions and immediately began running after his boss. There was no time –there was no _time._ He could only pray that everyone would be safe, that everything would turn out alright._

_They still had a chance to succeed, and by gods, they were going to _take it_.)_

_._

* * *

Awareness came slowly.

Waking felt something akin to seeing a dull light slowly trickle in through folded blinds, sliver by sliver and drop by drop. Slowly, sluggishly, until the lingering vestiges of darkness finally receded to a shimmering yellow glow, and I became aware of a gritty, bone-weary soreness embedded deep into my bones. It was… unpleasant, really, to feel that sharp stiffness and rigid pain settled so deeply, to feel the pain brought by a physical, mortal shell.

But in another sense, it was also a good sign, for it was a sign that I was still alive, and that I could still fight.

(And that was enough for now.)

"How are you feeling?"

"Tired. Sore." I waved a hand listlessly in the air, grimacing lightly at the way my muscles ached from the simple movement. The Storm Funeral Wreath, Zakuro, had certainly done a number on me –particularly that bit at the end; what had he called it again? Carnage box? I would've had trouble fighting something like that even in my normal condition; let alone with a target sucking out my flames on my chest. "I feel like someone decided to wreak havoc on my flames and shove a hand through my stomach before flinging me around like a rag doll."

"That's probably because that's exactly what happened," the wave of glittering yellow Sun flames in the corner of my vision faded away, and I found myself pinned by an unusually sharp look from a pair of coal-black eyes. "… Now, care to explain what you think you were doing?"

I blinked.

"What do you mean?"

Honest confusion. Fighting, yes? I had been fighting the Millefiore Storm? I didn't understand what he was referring to; what could–

"This, for example."

The Sun Arcobaleno set down a small bottle in front of me.

A small bottle of red pills.

"… Oh." I tilted my head, starting to get a vague inkling of where this was heading towards, but still not quite understanding where exactly he wanted to take this conversation. "Um. I… Glad I haven't lost these; they're rather expensive. Thank you for giving it back to me, I really apprecia–"

"Each pill is a dose of poison to the body; ten are enough to kill," Reborn cut in roughly across my uncertain ramblings, voice low and sharp. "How many have you taken so far?"

… _Ah._

My lips quirked into a wry smile at the accusing question, but I didn't respond.

(After all, there was no sense in answering something phrased in such a manner.)

"There is a difference," Reborn finally stated after a small, unrelenting pause, "Between fighting with a dying will, and fighting with a will to die. I would've thought that this concept was something you already understood, but clearly I've overestimated you."

I ignored the stinging rebuke in his words.

"Dying is a small price to pay if it means stopping Byakuran," I shrugged.

There was something unreadable in the Sun Arcobaleno's eyes as he regarded me once more.

"… Would you say the same for Tsuna and the others, then?" He folded his arms across his chest, and Leon scampered restlessly around the brim of his fedora. "Are you saying that their deaths would be perfectly acceptable for the sake of–"

_Are you saying that their deaths would be perfectly acceptable for the sake of stopping Byakuran, too?_

"_No!" _I burst out unthinkingly, as soon as I realized how his sentence would end.

Because… no.

_No._

No, no, _no; _I wouldn't let it happen again. I _couldn't_ let it happen. _Tsuna and the others were not going to die fighting Byakuran._

(Not again, not when this was the last–)

"You misunderstand me, Reborn." My voice was softer this time as I spoke. Softer, calmer, as I re-gathered my composure, and my fingers reached out to curl around the small bottle of pills placed in front of me. "But… don't you see by now? It's precisely because I'm not going to let them die that I'm willing to… take a few risks with my own life. I assure you, I know–"

"This isn't just taking risks. This is downright _suicidal." _The pills suddenly disappeared from my grasp, and I looked up to see Reborn balancing it in the center of his palm again. "Ever since being pulled into this future, there's been an edge of recklessness and desperation to your actions, hasn't there? Even to your fighting style. I've wondered briefly about it before, but… you're not just taking risks to fight Byakuran. If anything, this carelessness shows you take risks because you don't expect to survive past fighting Byakuran anyways. Because of that, you figure you might as well get any edge you can for yourself, even if it comes at a higher cost. Am I wrong?"

… No.

No, you're not.

But you don't–

"What do you think Tsuna would have to say about this?"

I winced.

"… He wouldn't like it," I admitted quietly. Reborn snorted.

"'Not liking it' is putting it lightly, Tsubaki. Did you realize how Tsuna reacted when he saw that Millefiore Storm–" a small sigh as the Arcobaleno broke off, tugging down on his fedora. "… Point is, what makes you think that it's okay for you to die?"

… _What?_

"I– what are you–" bewildered, my words stumbled over each other for a moment before I finally found my tongue again. "How does this even relate to– _ow!_"

I broke off abruptly when Reborn rapped me sharply on the forehead with a Leon-hammer, which _hurt._

"You're part of this family now," Reborn stated matter-of-factly, "As such, you don't get to just go off and die on your own whenever you want. Is that clear?"

_You're part of this family now._

My fingers clenched tightly into the blankets thrown over my body, and I lowered my head –Reborn had the decency to look away, at least, but this feeling, it was…

No one had verbalized it until now.

I… of course I would always consider myself to be part of this family, but… when was it that I had almost grown used to separating myself from them? When was it that I had adjusted to the familiar, dull ache of being mistrusted and held away at arm's length? And even now, when we were learning to trust all over again… Hearing something like this, it felt… something indescribable welling in my chest; more than simple warmth, it was…

"… And you still owe Tsuna a favor, don't you?"

_Favor?_

_What is he… oh. Oh._

A favor.

… I … I had offered a favor to Tsuna before, hadn't I? A favor in exchange for letting me hunt for that old man, Birds, in Namimori, all the way back when… what seemed like a lifetime ago, honestly, at this point. And for all intents and purposes, it was.

A lifetime ago, I mean.

Didn't make it any less real.

* * *

.

"_She's awake."_

'_She's awake.' Tsuna hadn't realized how wound up over Tsubaki's injuries he had been until he heard those two words spoken aloud, and something akin to the weight of a mountain lifted itself off his back. He was dimly aware of Gokudera exclaiming something in the background as he stumbled, sinking to the ground at long last as his legs finally gave out from under him, but all he could focus on for that one moment was pure, heartfelt relief._

_She's awake._

_Tsubaki was finally… awake._

_That meant… that meant she was okay. Or, maybe not okay at the moment, considering how heavily she had been injured, but at least it meant she was still alive and would eventually recover, which was good. _

_(Thank goodness she's okay.)_

"_Tch, the nerve of that girl, worrying Juudaime like that," Gokudera grumbled from next to his ear, and Tsuna would be a fool not to hear the note of relief in Gokudera's voice as well, gruff with irritation as it was on the surface. "How is she, Reborn?"_

"_Suffering from some mild flame-depletion in addition to the various other injuries she sustained, but she should be able to recover soon," the hitman strode out from the medical room Tsubaki was resting in._

_Tsuna swallowed._

"_Can… can we visit her?" he asked tentatively._

_(He wanted to ascertain that she was okay with his own eyes. Because he still remembered, vividly, seeing that Millefiore Storm towering over her and something in him just _snapped_ and he–)_

_And then, the base shivered._

_There was a split second of stillness as everyone froze, trying to register what was going on, and something in his intuition _flared,_ strong and bright; dangerhurryrun–_

_Another tremor ran through the Vongola base mere moments later, and something _exploded_ outwards at the other end of the hallway._

"_What in the world–?!"_

"_Oho? Seems like I've found you already." Kikyo. The Millefiore Cloud straightened from where he was standing in the smoking wreckage and smiled slowly as his eyes fell on them. "… Yuni, won't you come peacefully with me? I promise that if you do so, there will be no more need for any violence."_

_The remaining section of the wall behind him finally collapsed towards the end of his words, falling to the ground with a loud, resounding crash._

"_I… I will not go with you." Yuni's voice trembled lightly in the beginning, but her response was firm._

_The teal-haired man sighed._

"_Such a pity."_

_Vivid Cloud flames burst forth from his fingertips, and this time, Squalo stepped forward, countering the assault with a wall of Rain flames that flared out and blocked the entire hallway from the pulsing violet flames._

"_Voi, you're all useless!" the silver-haired swordsman barked out harshly at them, "Just take Yuni and get out!"_

_Tsuna gave a small start at what the Varia Vice-Captain was implying._

"_E-eh?" he blinked rapidly, "Y-you, you mean, you're going to fight him alone…?"_

"_Don't worry, Tsuna, I'll stay," Yamamoto's grip landed on his sword as he gave him a reassuring grin, "I'll stay with Squalo here. The rest of you, hurry and–"_

"… _the hell is going on?"_

… _That voice._

_That voice._

_It was–_

_Tsuna turned._

"_Tsubaki!" _

_Joy turned to worry in a heartbeat; there was a certain lethargy to the young assassin's bearing that Tsuna had never seen in her before. A lethargy that swiftly vanished as soon as the raven-haired girl took stock of the current situation, but nonetheless Tsuna still felt concern lingering in his chest at the way the way she forced herself to straighten and stand tall despite her injuries. Her eyes flickered over the scene in a heartbeat before refocusing on him._

"_Tsuna, what–?"_

"_Like fuck you're staying!" Squalo's voice easily cut across hers as he scowled at Yamamoto, glaring at the rest of them. "Get out of here already, and– and just let me be able kick up my own storm, quietly and cleanly, my own way!"_

_Silence._

… '_Quietly and cleanly'… were most definitely not the first words that one would think of using in describing Superbi Squalo. Neither were they the second. Or the third. _

… _Or even the fourth, really. _

_(More like the last, to be honest, but…)_

_Yamamoto laughed._

"_Haha… yeah, I get it." he gave the silver-haired swordsman a thumbs-up that went deliberately ignored. "We'll leave things here to you, then." _

_Was this really alright, though? The Funeral Wreaths were strong, they didn't–_

"_C'mon, Tsuna." Yamamoto smiled cheerfully, "If Squalo says he'll be fine, then he'll be fine. Let's get going now, shall we?"_

"_Ah, okay, then." Tsuna nodded, "Um… everyone, let's go!"_

_He hesitated, turning to the raven-haired girl who really, really should be resting right now, but… _

"_Ts-Tsubaki, are you… going to be alright?"_

_A crackle of Lightning flames danced down the length of the young girl's hand, and Tsubaki flexed her fingers thoughtfully, as if she was testing the simple movement, before looking over and smiling at him._

"… _Yeah. I'll be fine, Tsuna. Let's hurry now before we get left behind, shall we?"_

_._

* * *

It probably wasn't a good idea to rely on my flames for movement again so soon, not when they were still recovering and not when my body was in such a fragile, vulnerable state. Especially not when Byakuran had a flame distortion device that could tamper with the fine control required for such a technique, but there was no other choice at the moment. Right now, we needed to run –_escape–_ and I _wouldn't_ let myself be the deadweight slowing everyone down, dragging their heels.

(I won't be your weakness.)

Takeshi was quiet as he ran by my side, no doubt worried about having left Squalo behind. Much as I felt myself growing concerned about the Varia swordsman as well, especially considering the state we had seen him in before we fled, when the base had been blown up entirely… outmatched or not, Squalo wasn't one to be taken down so easily. And besides…

"If there's anything that the Varia teaches other than killing, it's how to stay alive," I gave Takeshi a small smile. "Squalo is too stubborn to die, anyways."

For a moment, Takeshi looked startled, before returning with his own smile.

"Ah. That's true, isn't it?"

"We're here!" Haru gasped at the head of the group, skidding to a stop in front of a set of doors. In front of a realtor shop. The young girl stepped forward, frantically knocking on the doorframe. "G-grandmother! Grandmother, it's Haru! Please open up, gran– _HAHI!"_

The sudden opening of the doors caused Haru to fall face-first onto the floor of the shop. But the one who opened the door–

"… Well, I'm sorry to break it to you, but the grandmother who used to run this shop passed away three years ago."

(A male voice. It was… familiar?)

"Oh, but don't worry. She was all smiles when she kicked the bucket, so no need for condolences or sympathy."

(White hair. Round glasses. Vaguely familiar, yes, but more importantly, his _voice…_

… had I heard it somewhere before?

If so, _where?_)

"H-hahi?! Grandmother is… but then… w-what are we going to do, then?" Haru whirled around, panic shining in her eyes from the sudden news dropped on her. "If grandmother is dead, then we don't–"

A soft sigh.

"Well, whatever are you lot still standing around for?" The man standing at the open doorway leaned against the wooden frame, deftly adjusting his grip on the bowl of ramen in his hands as he shook his head at us, motioning on with his chopsticks. "Hurry up and get inside. You're being chased, are you not?"

… _How does he know?_

_Who is he?_

_Why does it feel almost as if–_

"E-eh?" Tsuna blinked, eyes wide, "B-but how do you know that we're–"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of the Funeral Wreaths for you," wholly unconcerned by our reactions (or at least seemingly so, but I had a feeling that it was the former and not the latter), the man bit into another mouthful of his ramen noodles.

Tsuna's jaw dropped.

"How do you know about the Funeral Wreaths?!"

"I'll explain later," the man shrugged casually. "Get inside. That Kikyo fellow is chasing you, isn't he?"

"… _You even know their names?!"_

Suspicious.

Very suspicious.

And yet…

"There, there. For the moment, just believe in your old Uncle Kawahira, won't you?" Tsuna and Gokudera, who had the misfortune of standing right next to the white-haired man, were kicked directly into the shop with identical shouts of surprise towards the end of his words.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Gokudera growled indignantly, but the man seemed completely unperturbed.

"Forgive me, but both of my hands are occupied at the moment." The man –Kawahira– turned his attention back towards the rest of us who were still standing at the doorway, clearly hesitating. "Well? What are you waiting for? Get inside."

Tsuna froze, as if struck by a sudden thought. "Kawahira… Kawahira… Kawahira, as in…?"

"Hello, I-pin." Completely nonplussed by the reactions he was garnering, Kawahira crouched down in front of the young Chinese girl, "You're very charming as a youngster, too. But you'll grow up to become a lovely young lady someday… although, it would be nice if you could do something about those soggy noodles…"

I stared blankly at the scene, unsure of what to say or feel.

(Soggy noodles? What?)

"He's _that_ Uncle Kawahira!" Tsuna seemed to understand what was going on, at the very least. "He's the one that Future-I-pin always delivers ramen to!"

… Um. Okay?

_Still doesn't explain how he knows about the Funeral Wreaths, though._

"There's no time. We'll just have to do as he says for now," Reborn decided, stepping over the doorway, and we filed in after him. Then, an afterthought: "And if it turns out he's lying, then we'll just blow his brains out."

"_Reborn!"_

"Well, then." Composure not shaken in the least, the man simply motioned for us to all go in. "Pick a hiding place behind any of the furniture inside. If you'll just stay silent, I'll take care of the rest,"

Then, just as he turned and moved to close the doors–

"Um, I don't know who you are, but… thank you very much." Yuni smiled and gave a short bow.

"Yes, yes." the man smiled, "Get going, now. We don't have much time, do we?"

And the doors closed.

…

Kawahira.

Kawahira… Kawahira… I was fairly certain that I didn't know anyone by the name of Kawahira, let alone this strange white-haired man who seemed unnaturally informed of our circumstances. But… there was a certain familiarity about him that I couldn't quite shake off. It was more than a passerby on the streets, but it wasn't someone I was truly familiar with… even so. Even so, there was _something_ about him that I couldn't quite pinpoint…

…

_Kawahira. Who… are you?_

* * *

.

…

_._

* * *

Author's Notes:

Next chapter should contain the final battle for the Future arc. I think. Or the beginnings of it, at least. Don't take my word for it since things are still subject to change, but I think we'll probably be able to get to the final battle in the next chapter… Which is something to look forward to, no? :3

Still haven't exactly worked out an exact update schedule for this, but we'll do our best in continuing the story and hopefully not dropping off the face of earth for another hiatus anytime soon. Both of us are heading out for the summer, so I can't guarantee rapid summer updates like last year, either, but we'll try. :'D

… Omg I just realized that _Onwards Till Dawn _is almost one year old. In… roughly a week or so, I think? xD It'd be nice if we could finish the next chapter by then and update on that day, but I'm not sure if we'll be able to, haha. Oh, the possibilities…

As always, if you have any questions or if you see any errors in the text, feel free to let us know.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about the section with Tsubaki and Reborn's conversation, since Reborn feels a little OOC again (quails and hides under table). Then again, I always feel like he's a little OOC whenever we're trying to write him –definitely think it's kind of hard to portray Reborn's character correctly. Whoopsies. = w=

**QUESTION(1):** Time for making more predictions again: Do you think Tsubaki will be alive or dead at the end of this story? ;3 Any particular reasons why or why not? Or maybe just personal opinion, what you're hoping for?

**QUESTION(2):** So. What do you guys think of opening an OC submission for members of the Assassins Guild? This (probably) won't come into play until a lot later on in the overall timeline of things, and we might butcher a few submitted characters if we think they're too Mary-Sue/Gary-Stu to actually fit the story, but… well, it's just an idea we've been considering so far, and we'd like to know what others might think of it. :D So, any thoughts on this?

* * *

**EDIT 3/21:** On the topic of OC submission -this is just an idea, no guarantee we're actually going to go through with it. And also, the open slots are just for a few background characters here and there, nothing too major.

* * *

Thanks for the favorites/alerts and kudos to reviewers! Leave a note on what you think~

Till next time,

XxZuiliu


	25. 02: 10 Failure is Subjective (Bonus)

"_T-tell me where Yuni is…"_

_Annoying._

_The Millefiore Sun slowly licked his lips as his head lolled listlessly to the side, his entire frame quivering from tiny tremors as he climbed out from the wreckage of the wall that he had been bodily thrown into mere moments ago. Despite this, Hibari felt his eyes narrow slightly. Contrary to the obvious signs of weakness and fatigue that the herbivore was exhibiting, he was apparently uninjured –aside from a few rips and tears in his clothes, it appeared that the green-haired herbivore was fine. There was a distinct lack of blood._

"_I want t-to know where Yuni is… i-if you spit it out now, I'll forgive you!"_

_The ring on his finger alighted in a sudden burst of yellow flames, and the Millefiore herbivore slammed it into another box weapon. For a moment, the box shivered in his fingers, before abruptly opening and expulsing a rhino made entirely of Sun flames –a titanic rhino that charged blindly forward._

_Forward towards the irritating blond herbivore, who countered by calling on his own box animal –a Sky Horse that neighed before stomping its hooves and meeting the rhino head-on. His lips thinned as he directed Roll into the melee; rapidly-extending iron spikes tore the rhino to pieces with another flood of Cloud flames._

"_Don't touch my prey."_

_(Prey. Prey that escaped in the aftermath of the Choice match; prey that won't have the chance to escape again. Prey from an unfinished battle whose conclusion called for vengeance: blood matched for blood spilled.)_

"_Hey, hey, I had no choice, y'know? I mean, it was headed straight towards me, right?" The blond herbivore smiled and shrugged. "It's called self-defense."_

"_T-tell me…" The Millefiore herbivore swayed dizzily on his feet again, before straightening like a puppet with a steel rod rammed down its back, bloodshot eyes wide open. "Tell me where Yuni is. I was a bit happy that I found you right after warping here, which is why I'm going easy on you. But I'll get upset if you don't tell me where she is."_

_The blond herbivore arched an eyebrow, "Oh? 'Going easy on us,' eh?"_

"_Of course," the Millefiore herbivore blinked once. "It's obvious, isn't it? With such a feeble power… I thought it during Choice earlier, too. Vongola's forces are much too weak to stand against us."_

_Weak?_

_Hibari's eyes narrowed at the arrogant assumption delivered so matter-of-factly from the pathetic herbivore's lips. His fingers tightening around the steel pair of tonfas in his hands. _

_(The redheaded herbivore was more of a tactician than a frontline fighter, and the cowprint-wearing baby was but a mere child. Tsubaki had been effectively crippled by the handicap the target marker provided. Sawada Tsunayoshi had not begun truly baring his fangs until the last moments of the match, when he had seen the Millefiore Storm herbivore standing over the assassin's body, gloating and about to deliver the final blow.)_

_Hibari Kyoya was a carnivore. _He was not weak.

_(He would never be weak, not ag–)_

_The Millefiore herbivore opened the folds of his cloak._

_"That's a box on his chest," alarmed, the blond herbivore sucked in a sharp breath, his words mixed with something akin to horror and grimness at the sight. Recognizing and understanding what it implied. "That… that's just like–"_

"_Zakuro used this earlier in Choice. But even amongst the Millefiore, this is something unique to the six of us." The Millefiore herbivore's voice contained an edge of superiority and satisfaction. "Lord Byakuran has told us before_…_ We Funeral Wreaths are an existence beyond human beings!"_

_And then he slammed the Mare Ring, glowing brightly with Sun flames, directly into the box that was melded into his body._

"_Open, Carnage Box!"_

…

* * *

"That Cloud Funeral Wreath is gone now. I think you'll be safe for awhile."

Multiple exhales of relief sounded around me at that proclamation, and I found myself letting out a small breath as well. Still, there remained an edge of weariness among us; even though the teal-haired Funeral Wreath had left, the way Kawahira that had gone about drawing him away… those illusions were _strong._ Not unlike the ones Mukuro used, really –and perhaps stronger, even? Also, the technique he used at the end, something that mimicked killing intent to fool the senses–

"Though, that Byakuran guy is truly terrible," the white-haired man's comment slid over my thoughts as he crouched down in front of Yuni. Despite the wariness that he was no doubt aware he was being regarded with in our eyes, he seemed to be perfectly at ease. "Sending out his murder troops to hunt down such an innocent little girl."

Yuni.

(Yuni. _Yuni._ To have suffered under Byakuran's control like that–)

"U-um," Tsuna's voice broke in, carrying in it a light note of hesitation and yet still forging onwards, "Thank you for helping us, but how exactly do you know so much about–?"

"You're welcome, young Vongola." Kawahira simply gave Tsuna a cordial nod, a polite gesture that had the flustered brunet hurrying to reciprocate with a small bow in return. Then, in the midst of his scramble and completely ignoring what Tsuna had been trying to ask him earlier: "I'll be heading out on a trip and closing the shop for awhile, so feel free to use anything in here as you'd like."

"E-eh?!"

I frowned.

"Who are you, really?" Reborn's voice cut across the room sharply, just as the white-haired man stepped across the threshold of the doorway.

"… Why, I'm merely the son of the old lady who used to own this shop before she passed away three years ago." He tilted his head back slightly, "My name is Kawahira, if you must really insist on–"

"That's not what we're asking."

"Why are you helping us?" The soft question slipped past my lips unthinkingly; I didn't actually expect for the man to stop and turn his attention onto me –not when he was even so easily brushing off _Reborn's_ questions. "I… Is there something in this for you?"

"You could say it's something like that," he agreed easily, amicably. "Although, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the whole world has a stake in this. Wouldn't you agree with me, little lady?"

_The Tri-ni-sette. He's talking about the Tri-ni-sette. Fire and balance and life._

_…_ _He knows about the Tri-ni-sette, too._

"I–"

"You don't seem quite so sad and lost anymore. That's an improvement from the last time I saw you, I suppose," he mused aloud, and _what in the world was he–_

… _Wait._

My eyes widened, as a moment of crystal clarity shattered across my mind like shards of glacial ice-water, as the convoluted pieces fogging my thoughts began clearing and twisting and _fitting together somehow, and I_–

And somehow despite that, I could only find myself blurting out the first coherent thought that came to mind.

"You're that weird guitarist!" I blurted out.

Silence. Then:

"_What?!"_

I instinctively flushed at the incredulous reactions that my words incited from the others. Thankfully, Kawahira didn't seem to be offended –only amused by the way I had responded to him.

"I will be taking my leave now," he said, a smile curving at his lips as he turned.

"No, wait–"

One last pause at the doorway, and:

"_Don't forget. You owe me for this."_

An instant later, he was–

"He's gone."

…

Kawahira's presence had all but vanished into thin air the moment he stepped out of the shop, disappearing past the set of entrance doors. Which… could be easily attributed to his being Mist-natured; it would be child's play for him to throw some kind of concealment over himself that would make him undetectable. And, considering how he had been able to recreate a mimicry of killing intent so _real _definitely confirmed that he was an illusionist of high enough caliber to pull off a concealment strong enough to hide from us all. But somehow, it still felt as if–

"… There's nothing we can do about him right now. We'll have to leave him be for the time being." Reborn let out a small, mildly irritated 'tsk-ing' sound before turning to Tsuna. "Seeing as you're the one holding the communication device here, can you establish contact with Dino and Hibari?"

Dino and Kyoya… apparently, Kyoya had run off to the school earlier, and was promptly followed by Dino soon after. If they hadn't rendezvoused with us yet, it most likely meant that they had run into unforeseen circumstances as well.

_Are they possibly fighting a Funeral Wreath?_

I… I wasn't quite certain if my current level of ability was truly enough to take down a Funeral Wreath on my own, frankly speaking. The Millefiore Storm, Zakuro… considering that I had been carrying the target on my chest during the match, it wasn't exactly like I'd been able to fight with my usual level of competency against him. But even though I had been severely handicapped in our battle, the Storm hadn't pulled out his true abilities until the end, with that… that weird transformation thing, that turned his skin _red_ and made him appear like some sort of human-lizard hybrid.

(I had a sneaking suspicion that there were a lot more tricks he could pull in that form, techniques and strengths that he hadn't shown in our battle. He hadn't _needed_ to, considering how I had already been half-dead by that point.)

I knew I could be a match for him. It would be difficult, but… I could do it. I knew I would be able to take him on without being completely slaughtered again, not like what our fight in Choice had been like. What I didn't know was if I could _defeat_ him, soundly. And therein lay the problem.

… It would certainly help if I still had those pills, but Reborn had confiscated them earlier, citing that I was being _suicidal._

I wasn't.

Suicidal, that is.

(I _wasn't._ Really.)

But… he was right. In a way, I had panicked and gone about doing things recklessly ever since arriving in this war-torn future, but I didn't regret it. I didn't regret going out to make my own preparations and getting my hands on those pills. Because even if the methods were risky, the ends justified the means, didn't they?

_What makes you think it's okay for you to die?_

_You are part of this family._

I let out a soft sigh, crossing my arms across my chest.

Did Reborn really understand how those words would affect me?

"Tsubaki?"

"Yuni?" I blinked, startled out of my thoughts and turning at her call. "What is it?"

"I… I haven't had time to say this earlier, but I'm glad you are well," the young girl said, smiling. "How are you feeling?"

"Well enough, I suppose," I shrugged. She would probably be able to discern that I was being deliberately vague about the state of my injuries, but, well. They could certainly do without the extra worry about my less-than-stellar combat condition.

Yuni's hands reached out and covered mine in a heartbeat, and for a moment, I was both utterly baffled at what her actions meant, and completely at a loss as for how to react. Because, this? I hadn't interacted with Yuni very much in this time; if anything, hadn't I committed some offense against the Giglio Nero, too? So why would she–

_Oh._

_Oh, of course._

_Yuni is the Arcobaleno of the Sky. Her 'gift.' That means…_

"Thank you, Tsubaki," Yuni said warmly, quietly, a small smile gracing her lips as she held my hands in such a _familiar _gesture. A gesture of comfort. Of gratitude.

Of gratitude I didn't deserve.

"Don't be like that," something a bit sharp entered her tone just as I lowered my gaze uncomfortably. "Tsubaki, don't be like that. _You didn't fail."_

Soft, gentle, firm.

I didn't believe her.

"Didn't I?" My voice was threadbare, thinly woven with bitterness and regret that I didn't bother hiding. Couldn't hide, not from the truth when it was laid out so candidly like this. "You don't have to say this to try and make me feel better, Yuni. I could never protect anyone."

"You are the reason why we even have this chance to stop Byakuran," Yuni replied simply, and something in me _froze _at the outrageous declaration that really couldn't be any further from the truth.

"_What in the world are you talking about?"_

She sighed.

"Your future self was like this too, when I told her," the blue-eyed girl shook her head, before forging onwards. "Tsubaki, Byakuran is literally tearing every world apart in his quest for absolute possession of the Tri-ni-sette. Your existence, your presence, your _will…_ it is the very reason why these worlds he has already destroyed are still being held together."

This was ridiculous.

"Parallel worlds are called parallel worlds for a reason. They run along _parallel lines,_ which means that even though they often bear several similarities to each other, they won't touch; they never meet," Yuni explained. "Byakuran's Mare Ring grants him the miracle of the horizontal space-time axis, which is the ability to make contact with parallel worlds. To look into, communicate, and share knowledge between his parallel selves across these parallel worlds."

A small pause.

"These clusters of branching parallel worlds are all separate from each other," she steadfastly looked up into my eyes. "Byakuran would've been able to take total control of each decisive parallel world if not for you. By rewinding time as you move through these parallel worlds, you essentially draw a line of connection between these worlds –a line of shared fate."

"Shared fate?" I parroted blankly, mind awhirl with what she was implying, because it _couldn't be true,_ and Yuni simply nodded.

"Until Byakuran wins in every decisive 'control world' of the many branching parallels, he _can't_ claim victory," she elaborated. "The lines you draw between these worlds always ensure that there is another world out there that's still free of his influence, that hasn't been destroyed, which means that the worlds that he has already taken over aren't fully under his control. This is why Byakuran hunts you down every time in every world without fail, always."

"… Until now."

"Until now," Yuni agreed. "Because this is the last world. This is the last 'control world' that is still left for him to take over. But this is also the only world that has ever achieved the full potential of box weapons and flame technology. This is the only world where the strength and will of Vongola Decimo and his Guardians burn brighter than ever. This is the only world where you awa–"

"How do you even know this is true?" Because… every single time… _every single goddamn time…_ "Is this just a theory of yours, Yuni? Why would something like this ever–"

"I can see it," she interrupted kindly, gently. "I can see it. You didn't fail, Tsubaki."

…

… _You didn't fail._

I collapsed to the ground. Or rather, I collapsed to the couch; apparently, Yuni had foreseen that I would have this reaction, and had cleverly manuevered me into this position so I wouldn't aggravate my injuries by falling to the wooden floorboards. Which was thoughtful of her, really.

But still.

"… How is something like this even possible?" I groaned, part incredulous and part disbelieving of what had just been dumped on me. Yet, if Yuni had _seen_ it… no. No, even so, it just didn't make any _sense. _Why…?

"You are a special existence, Tsubaki." Yuni smiled.

I snorted.

"Me? _Special?"_

"You travel from one parallel world to another instead of dying," she pointed out; and, okay, maybe she had a point there. But I didn't _feel _special –if I was special, then I would've been able to get my act together and gain enough strength to– "Oh, and you should really read those 'spam' messages you keep getting recently."

I stared, completely thrown for a loop by the non-sequitur that blindsided me from nowhere.

"… _What?"_

Yuni smiled.

"It's something your future-self told me to tell you if I had the chance to," she stood up from her seat on the couch across from me. "Ah, looks like Yamamoto and a few others are going to leave now. Shall we go and see them off with everyone else?"

My head whipped around. I… hadn't exactly been paying attention to anything else during Yuni's explanations; if she hadn't quietly tugged me to the side in a clear sign of wanting privacy, everyone probably would've been listening in on our conversation just now, and I would never realize until this moment. Not to say that there was no one knew what had been involved in our little exchange just now; I most certainly wouldn't put it past Reborn to have bugged us somehow.

Regardless.

"… Yeah, let's head over."

* * *

"_Is it finally over?"_

_Dino staggered a little, and Romario rushed to steady his Boss. His Boss, who had taken several nasty hits from that Millefiore Sun Guardian –the Guardian whose moves seemed to be a tad too familiar with and well-adjusted to breaking through his Boss' techniques to be entirely natural. The explanation of which could probably be neatly summed up in a single word: Byakuran._

"_Ah," Dino said tiredly as he sagged, though a grin quirked at the edge of his lips. "Kyoya sure went all-out this time, eh?"_

"_Sure seems so," Romario agreed. Though, for someone who claimed to be fighting to _protect_ the school, it sure seemed like Hibari himself ended up doing more damages to the buildings than his opponent. Which was nothing new, he supposed._

_The Millefiore Sun lay silent and still on the ground, chained head to toe in Cloud-tinged handcuffs firmly locked around his body. __Wordlessly, the young Cloud Guardian tossed the Mare Sun Ring over his shoulder, and Dino snatched it out of the air in an impressive feat of hand-eye coordination._

"_Oi, be more careful with this, Kyoya!" Dino shook his head exasperatedly, "This ring is important!"_

_There was no real heat in his Boss' voice, though. After all, this was their victory._

_… __Although… even though they had finally scored a victory against Byakuran's Funeral Wreaths, it didn't mean they could afford to grow complacent now. _

_He had observed the Choice match with Dino from the observing deck with the others, and… that Millefiore Storm fellow, Zakuro. Zakuro had definitely been stronger than the Sun they just fought here. No matter in terms of movement, technique, or skill –yes, there was no doubt that the green-haired Sun was strong, but the Millefiore Storm's abilities were on another level altogether. Particularly after his skin turned red as he underwent that transformation with the strange box weapon infused into his flesh that seemed to use his body as a conduit._

_It was a safe bet that all Funeral Wreaths had that same box weapon hidden up their sleeves. Carnage boxes, was it? And something about Byakuran claiming the Funeral Wreaths to be an existence beyond human beings, too?_

… _Well, their transformations certainly looked inhuman, he'd grant them that._

_But it didn't mean they were invincible._

_Hibari Kyoya had just proved it right here –Funeral Wreaths were strong, insanely so, but they could still be taken down like any other person. The Mist Funeral Wreath had revealed himself to be fine mere moments after the Choice match had ended (much to the young Cloud Guardian's ire at being deceived by an illusionist again), which didn't bode well for the Millefiore Mist for his next meeting with Hibari. Hibari had always hated illusionists; moreover, he hated leaving a fight unfinished even more__._

"_Kyoya?" Dino called out, "Kyoya, let's go now. We're done here."_

_The thoroughly unimpressed look that Hibari gave his Boss for those words spoke volumes for the 'don't group me with you herbivores' message that he was conveying in no uncertain terms. A last look at the Millefiore Sun lying defeated on the ground, and then Hibari turned and walked away –in the direct opposite direction that Dino had waved towards, quickly followed by Kusakabe._

_Dino huffed out a small laugh as the duo disappeared around the corner._

"_Ah, look at that," the blond shook his head. Then, thoughtfully: "You saw it in his eyes too, didn't you? Kyoya still isn't satisfied with that fight just now. Argh, that kid is going to be the death of me…"_

_Romario chuckled._

"_It seems that he is no different in the past from what he is now," he said humorously. "Or perhaps, maybe it would be more accurate to say that he is no different now from what he will be in the future?"_

_No matter what, they still had to prepare for the battles ahead__._

_For the future._

…

* * *

.

_Re: Your Trial_

_Hi! This message is from Gate, sent to inform you that your Trial has officially ended._

_Due to special and unusual circumstances that have recently arisen, everyone is being recalled. Please step into the World Gateway as soon as possible so I may bring you back home. We will further extrapolate on the situation once everyone has returned; please understand that this world is currently in a precarious position that will pose a grave danger to us should we linger. I urge you to step into the World Gateway as soon as you can. _

_I look forward to hearing from you, sister._

_May you soar far on silver wings,_

_-Gate._

.

* * *

_**Bonus.**_

* * *

_Extra: "All our dreams will be"_

* * *

.

Brightly colored streamers rustle merrily in the passing breeze, mischievously flitting in the wild wind like shimmering fire-light over silent waters. The intense glow of innumerable lanterns drifting overhead feel almost as if a string of miniature suns had decided to carve out a piece of day under the blanket of night. Multiple strings, really, seeing as the entire street appears to be gently awash in a soft sea of light.

(The press and pull of the crowd comes to a sudden and abrupt freeze at that moment, before hurriedly parting to form a path through their ranks.)

Yamamoto smiles.

"Yo, Hibari!" he calls out cheerfully, casually waving a hand at the familiar mop of dark hair striding his way. "Have you seen Tsuna somewhere around here? We kinda got separated from each other earlier, and I'm trying to find–"

"W-wait! Yamamoto, please don't–"

He never really manages to hear the rest of what Kusakabe is trying say; next thing he knows, he is ducking under the telltale silver flash of a metal tonfa before he even knows what's happening –whoops, jump over that leg trying to sweep out his feet from under him, and–

_Ow._

"Pretty fired up for the festivities here, are we?" he wheezes out, still grinning even under the full force of the temperamental Cloud's withering glare. He's probably going to have a bruise on his stomach tomorrow.

"… If you find that herbivore before I do, tell him I will _bite him to death,"_ Hibari promises darkly, before turning gracefully and gliding away in a swirl of the dark Disciplinary Committee jacket clinging to his shoulders. Yamamoto blinks, slightly disconcerted by this unusually vehement reaction–

_BOOM._

The scowl on Hibari's face intensifies, and he takes off at a low sprint towards the direction where the sound of destruction had come from. He is immediately followed by Kusakabe, who shouts a quick, fervent apology to Yamamoto as he passes.

A heartbeat later, Yamamoto scrambles up and follows, too.

.

* * *

.

"… Somehow, I'm not surprised things ended up turning out this way."

"Ahaha…ha…" Tsuna laughs nervously, sheepishly scratching the back of his head at the wry voice. "It… it wasn't on purpose?"

The raven-haired girl crouched next to him shakes her head, a faint smile tugging at the edges of her lips. "Well, that's Gokudera for you, I guess. So what set him off this time?"

"Um. Well." Tsuna hesitated. "… He asked me what _omikuji_ I drew this year…?"

_Omikuji_. Fortune strips, luck blessings, drawn from boxes in shrines after making small offerings.

"I see," she says, voice as dry as the desert. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to tell me what you got on your _omikuji,_ too?"

"_Dai-kyou_," he admits, with all the air of a man who knows he has already dug himself into a hole deep enough that there is no way of extracting himself from said hole without inciting more violence in the situation at large. _Dai-kyou_, great misfortune. It's the same _omikuji _he draws without fail every year, to be honest, to the point where he is privately wondering if the world at large is having a laugh at his expense. Probably. "Gokudera… he might have overreacted a little when I, um…"

"Let me guess; he's probably still somewhere over there tossing sticks of dynamite all over the place and ranting on about how the entire Namimori Shrine is obviously cursed for 'daring to replace Juudaime's _dai-kichi_ with _dai-kyou_,'" she says wryly, and Tsuna twitches, before hanging his head in defeat. The sound of another explosion going off in the not-so-far distance has him wincing even more, and the raven-haired girl shakes her head amusedly. "You do know that if he keeps this ruckus up, he's liable to draw Hibari here?"

"… Knowing Hibari, he's probably already on his way here," Tsuna despairs, feeling himself wilt even further at the mention of the violent prefect. And considering his earlier not-so-amicable-run-in with his Cloud Guardian, in which the Disciplinary Head had already been annoyed at the 'crowding' on the streets… he could really do without getting bitten to death tonight.

Really.

"Well, on the bright side," the girl continues optimistically, "At least this means Yamamoto will know where to find us, right? I know we got lost for a moment back in the crowd earlier when we were escaping from Hibari, but at least he'll know where we are now. It's usually what I do whenever I lose sight of you guys –just follow the way to where the worst of the chaos and destruction currently occurring is, and you'll be there."

Tsuna finally gives up and buries his face in his hands.

_My life. How is this my life,_ he silently bemoans, and the girl next to him laughs.

"Cheer up, Tsuna," she grins. "It's New Year's, isn't it? You should be happy! So, what wish have you made this year?"

"… The same as last year," he mumbles through his fingers.

It's a simple wish, to be sure.

It's only a simple wish that anyone might have, and one that many people _did _make at shrines.

It's a simple wish, but one that is very important to him.

"Tsunaaaa." He must've remained silent too long, since the raven-haired girl leans over and pokes him in the ribs _hard,_ causing him to give a very (un)manly yelp. "Tsuna, aren't you going to tell me what your wish is? … I promise I'll give you a hand here if you tell me what your wish is."

"Really?"

"Mmhm," she nods, sitting down with her legs swinging carelessly in the open air. "I mean, I imagine that hanging from the edge of the rooftop like that can't be too comfortable, can it? I doubt Gokudera even realized this would happen when he started setting off all his merry explosions while you were _standing right next to him_, but, well…"

Precariously dangled over a long drop to the cold asphalt ground, with only the back of his hood being caught on a piece of rubble the only thing separating him from tentative safety and certain death, Tsuna valiantly resists the urge to sob at the unceremonious reminder of his current situation.

"Why do you even want to know?" he wonders aloud, and it's more of his frustration at this entire chaotic scenario unfolding around him speaking here at this point, so he isn't really expecting a response. Any sort of response, for the matter, so when she actually _speaks up to answer–_

"So I can try to grant it, of course."

Tsuna literally feels his head whip around with an audible crack to look at her, at this matter-of-fact tone she had spoken with, as if her reply is obvious and he is just–

"Careful!" Her hand shoots out and snags his arm just in time. The piece of rubble that his hood had been snagged on crumbled altogether from the force of the sudden movement, which explained where the unnaturally loud 'crack' came from. He can still feel his heart pounding hard against his ribcage at the near-miss, can still feel that swooping sensation in his stomach, but he isn't altogether certain if it's from the near-miss in falling or if it's actually from– "C'mon, let's get you up here now, shall we?"

"… Why?"

She blinks, pausing in the midst of hauling him onto the rooftop next to her. "What do you mean, 'why?' I mean, unless you actually _want_ me to let go just so you can fall ten feet down to the ground or something, I guess I can certainly–"

"Wait, no! No, not that!" he hurriedly shakes his head, and mentally breathes a sigh of relief as she merely shrugs and resumes pulling him upwards. "I just… what you said just now. About my wish."

"Yeah?"

"… Who _does_ that?"

"You mean aside from me, Gokudera, and just about everyone else in the family despite the fact not all of them will actually verbalize it like I did?" she says archly. "Tsuna, you're our Sky. I don't see how this is such a surprise to you that we want to–"

"You shouldn't do that," his says, lips dry. "I'm not even going to be a mafia boss; you shouldn't have to–"

"Tsuna," she says, and this time her voice is sharp as it silences his. "Are you deliberately being obtuse or something? We're not trying to make you happy because you're our Boss; we want you to happy because you're the one who always checks to ensure we're okay, who always tries to protect us no matter what odds we're up against, and we love you because you are you, _Tsuna,_ not Vongola Decimo."

Her chest is heaving slightly at the end of this rant, and Tsuna feels… stunned, for lack of a better word, as she leans back and huffs, because even though he knows that he loves his family and his family loves him in return, he isn't _aware_ that–

"Oh," he finds himself softly, awkwardly, before he clears his throat in a desperate attempt to salvage the conversation with an earlier topic. "Oh. Um. You don't have to do anything special, really. I just… uh. My wish. It's…"

He colors slightly, self-consciously glancing around to make sure there is no one else in sight.

"I just want to live a peaceful life with everyone, Tsubaki," he confesses. "And, okay, I know it probably won't _ever_ happen, considering even half the chaos that always goes on around us like we're magnets for insanity, but still. As long as we can all be together and happy, I think… I think there's nothing I'd like better in this world."

For a moment, she is silent.

And then she smiles.

It's not a brief, flitting smile, like what her smiles usually are; nor is it an amused one where she is merely laughing at his misfortunes –this smile is _genuine_ in a way her other smiles all lack, and the cloak of worry that always weighs down on her shoulders is gone. It makes her shoulders loosen, makes her eyes lighten, makes her smile freely in what can only be described as… happiness. Contentment. Joy.

Kyoko is publically acknowledged in Namimori as cute and pretty. People agree that she is a friendly girl with a bright, radiant smile that is as lovely as the warmth of noonday sunshine in spring. She smiles gaily, freely, cheerfully; her smiles are always open and honest without even the faintest trace of deception. Tsubaki is withdrawn and reserved in a way Kyoko isn't and will never be, and there is always something a bit desolate, a bit melancholy that clings to her and mars her as a person. It tarnishes her, and the removal of this darkness now makes her seem almost as if she is an entirely different person smiling at him, so Tsuna can't help but stare.

(It makes her beautiful.)

"Ah," she says simply. "I think I'd like that, too."

.

* * *

.

"_Juudaime! Juudaime, please accept my apologies–"_

"_G-Gokudera, there's no need to– ack! No, no, stop that! You're bleeding and there's glass all over the ground here and– hold on, Hibari, please don't– Gokudera!"_

_THWACK._

"_Hibari! Please stop!"_

"… _The herbivore deserves to be bitten to death for daring to cause such a ruckus at the shrine and disrupting the festival."_

"_Hey, like Tsuna was trying to imply: Not when he's already half-dead please, Hibari. You can try and pick this up later with him, though?"_

"_Tsubaki, that's not exactly what I was trying to–"_

"_I suppose you would rather take his place, then?"_

"… _Nah, I'll pass. That's Tsuna's job, I think."_

"_Wait. Wait, Tsubaki, what are you–"_

"_Sawada Tsunayoshi… the earlier commotion in the streets, before the explosions with the shrine. I still have yet to bite you to death for that, right?"_

"_Good luck, Tsuna."_

"_Urk."_

.

* * *

.

"Hey, Tsuna!" Yamamoto waves at his friend, finally spotting him and jogging over. "I ran into your mom earlier –she had the kids with her, and she wanted me to remind you that we're going to be watching the fireworks down by– huh, did I miss something?"

Tsuna groans as he painstakingly peels himself off the ground.

"Don't ask, please."

Hibari smirks, and Tsubaki laughs. Yamamoto blinks, connecting the dots in an instant as to what happened here (admittedly, the multiple craters littering the ground are a bit of a dead giveaway), but decides to let it slide. Tsuna doesn't look _too_ badly injured –if anything, Hibari is pulling his punches today. Had been all day, really. Which, he supposes, is probably just Hibari's own, skewed way of wishing them 'Happy New Year'.

So he smiles and gently slings a friendly arm around his Sky's shoulder.

"Well… if you're sure, Tsuna. Let's be off before we're late, then!"

.

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

.

They eventually settle down on the sloping, grassy riverbanks and wait for the fireworks to start, surrounded by the laughter of friends and the sheer joy of simply being together here. Here, Tsubaki feels her heart swell from sheer force of emotion and _happiness;_ the smile spreading across her face right now isn't one she thinks she can contain even if she wanted to, and she _doesn't_.

It is in this moment right before the night sky is set ablaze in a sea of innumerable, multicolored pinpricks of light that she truly realizes it. That she truly and honestly realizes and feels grateful for it: this _miracle,_ for what else can it be? She is grateful for this miracle of being able to meet them, of being blessed to encounter each other, of smiling together under the same star-filled sky, filled with laughter and hope for a brighter future.

…

(She supposes that it doesn't matter what unfathomable darkness lays ahead, what unspeakable horrors the future holds; for, come tomorrow, all our dreams will be reborn.)

.

* * *

_Extra: "All our dreams will be" –End_

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

… Never mind, I guess we'll get to the final battle in the next chapter. :'D Sorry if I got your hopes up for it last time?

You guys have _no idea_ how much I wanted to write a dummy April Fool's chapter for this, haha. xD Luckily (I guess?) for you, XxZuiyun talked me out of it so we actually have a legit chapter for this update. Legit chapter complete with info-dump from Yuni, and an additional bonus at the end.

The bonus, like the previous extra, is a glimpse from another one of Tsubaki's previous loops. This time, though, it's written in celebration of _Onwards Till Dawn_'s "anniversary." ;3 It's definitely not actually New Year's anymore, but it still fits since it's a full year for the story? xD The shrine-visiting/new year festival mentioned in the extra is called _hatsumode_. _Dai-kichi_ roughly translates to 'great luck,' and _dai-kyou_ is 'great misfortune.' (Anyone remember what Tsubaki mentioned about the Namimori Shrine when they met up there on the day of the Choice match…? ;D)

.

**As of today, **_**Onwards Till Dawn**_** is officially one year old! Thank you all very much for your kind support over the past year and hope you'll continue supporting the story~**

.

… And hope XxZuiyun won't actually abandon me here to write this on my own due to schoolwork next quarter. But. RL. And. Urgh. (-shot-)

…

Also, now that I'm re-reading everything… it looks like we're headed on a Tsubaki/Tsuna ship here? (Scratches head) … Personally, I'm actually kinda rooting for gen (cough)(probably the influence of my non-OC-centric gen stories)(cough)… Any thoughts on this, guys? Turn back the ship before i̶t̶ ̶c̶r̶a̶s̶h̶e̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶b̶u̶r̶n̶s̶ it's too late? :D

Posted **new story**: _Mafiatales._ Featuring classic fairytales written KHR mafia-style, humor-based and pretty much going to be a series of crackfics. xD Since, you know. Balancing out the overload of angst in most of my works and all that. Check it out if you're interested~

* * *

_**!IMPORTANT!:**_

**New system** implemented as of this chapter to thank and show appreciation to reviewers (credit for this idea goes to **Coolio101**. Speaking of which, I definitely recommend people interested in Bleach SI fics to check out **Coolio101**'s _Walk Two Lifetimes,_ which is Hisana-centric. :D).

Okay, so:

Every update, **10 randomly-chosen reviewers** will receive a **short extra/omake/deleted scene** of _Onwards Till Dawn._ These little snippets **will not be posted** here in the main story, _might_ (extremely unlikely to ever happen, but, well) be posted on my tumblr in the far, faaaaaaaaaar future (so don't actually count on it, haha). These will range somewhere around 500-700 words in length or so.

… Small motivation for silent readers to speak up, I suppose. :3

My general writing policy is to post chapters whenever they're finished, so don't be worried about chapters being withheld for reviews, **BECAUSE CHAPTERS AREN'T BEING HELD HOSTAGE FOR REVIEWS AND WILL NEVER BE**. :D This is just a little extra incentive here to show appreciation for reviewers, so you won't actually be missing anything in the main story anyways, even if you never read these short bonus snippets.

But it certainly won't hurt to leave a review. ;)

* * *

**QUESTION(1): **Any thoughts on Yuni's info-dump in this chapter?

**QUESTION(2):** What character POVs would you be interested in seeing? :3 Three characters will be chosen randomly from the submitted answers to incorporate into the next few chapters~

Not sure yet, but the next chapter(s?) might be a bit late due to college visits coming up this month. We'll see. Depends on how much writing we can get done over spring break. :) I'm itching to work on the Psycho-Pass fic I mentioned before and to finish up the next chapter for _As Fire Blazes on the Horizon,_ too. Fingers crossed for those, but no promises. xD

Till next time,

XxZuiliu


	26. 02: 11 Unexpected Arrival

It happened in an instant.

One moment, we had just finished seeing off Takeshi and the others as they headed back toward what remained of the Vongola base, and the next–

"Play with me, Yuni!"

Four simple words that came together to form a simple, childish demand.

And that was the moment when everything began falling apart.

In the same heartbeat that my mind processed Lambo's strange tenor in using 'me,' instead of some grandiose label for himself, a torrent of indigo-black Mist flames swept through the room in a veritable tidal wave, an overwhelming current of chaos that swiftly engulfed everything under a heavy cloak that restricted all movement. It wasn't enough to seal or trap us, not indefinitely, but it was enough to slow us down –it was enough to slow us down just so that we would be unable to do anything but watch as the flames swirled around Yuni and–

"_It's the Mist Funeral Wreath!"_

"Not just him," I muttered under my breath, eyes narrowing as I scanned the sky. The masked Mist had chosen to break through the walls directly, and was now floating several feet high in the air with two others beside him.

Storm. Rain.

(Planned. They planned this out. There's no other explanation for this, they had to have learned of our position somehow –but then, what about the Cloud who had been chasing us earlier? Kawahira had successfully drawn the Cloud away; it didn't make sense that he would reveal our location to the Millefiore so easily immediately after that. How had they been able to find us, then?

Unless… had Byakuran grown impatient and used his abilities to…?)

"Take the girl and go, Torikabuto; we'll take care of things here." A hint of bloodlust shone through in the Storm's grin as he stepped forward.

_I can't let them take Yuni away._

Lightning flames cut through the air in a jagged streak of light; the Storm automatically moved to intercept my flames from reaching the retreating Mist behind him, while the Rain readied the box weapon in her hands–

Foxes.

(Something in my heart stuttered at seeing the twin foxes racing over each other in winding arcs of Lightning flames. At seeing those familiar, _familiar_ foxes –foxes that I had fought with time and time again, and–)

–And in the moment that Zakuro was preoccupied with blocking the jagged splinter of my flames crashing down upon him and the Rain was readying her assault, the pair of Lightning foxes that all but materialized out of thin air immediately darted over them in a bright viridian flash, leaping over the two and violently tearing into the Mist's body.

(Even though it didn't seem like the attack really reached the Mist, it was enough for his form to dissolve, and Yuni was _falling–_)

"Are you well, princess?"

Gamma.

It was… good, to see that he had made it away from the Millefiore headquarters, along with Nosaru and Tazaru. Their timely appearance was unexpected, but not unwelcome. Although, I wasn't quite sure what to feel –my 'future self' had betrayed the Giglio Nero as well in this era, hadn't she? And, even assuming that they were aware of that fact now… it didn't mean that they would be ready to forgive me. Or even treat me in any remotely civil manner, really.

(Because I had betrayed them, because I had betrayed Yuni, in addition to turning my back on the Vongola. It didn't matter if it was all part of an act; it didn't make the betrayal at the time any less real –it didn't stop the numerous casualties that they suffered at Byakuran's hands. It didn't stop Byakuran from taking Yuni and so very nearly shattering her soul–)

"Eh?" The blue-haired Millefiore Rain blinked owlishly in surprise. "Black Spell? What are they doing here? Aren't they supposed to be all dead?"

It was slight, but I could see the way Yuni stiffened at that oh-so-casual way the Rain mentioned Byakuran's massacre, at Byakuran's "punishment" for her "running away" from the Millefiore–

"It's alright, princess." Gamma's arms tightened around her for a moment in reassurance, the faintest of smiles crossing his face at seeing her alive and well again, before something dark slipped into his eyes as he looked up towards the Rain again.

The Millefiore Rain whistled.

"Oh well, it would be boring if you traitors all died so easily anyways," she commented flippantly, teasingly.

"'Traitors?'" Gamma smiled coldly. "You must be mistaken. The Giglio Nero is and has always been loyal to the princess, not Byakuran."

The blue-haired girl rolled her eyes, while the storm –Zakuro– bared a feral grin.

"Whatever, like that even matters," the Storm smirked arrogantly. "None of you will be making it out of here alive today!"

Storm flames burst from his body; the violent red wave pulsed outwards in the bloody beats of a war drum, radiating a heinous bloodlust and paralyzing fear even as the flames immediately disintegrated everything in its path–

Pure, unadulterated killing intent mixed within the flames. It had been so long since I had last felt this that I had almost forgotten the sensation of being blanketed under it entirely.

But.

It.

Wasn't.

Enough.

… It _wasn't._ This had nothing on the fear and panic and bloodlust _tearing_ through the mind and pumping through the veins on a scarred battlefield where flames scorched the earth and torched the sky, where metal blades gorged on flesh and steel bullets splattered bits and pieces of bloody organs everywhere in a macabre shower. He didn't know, didn't know, didn't _know._ The Storm didn't know. He didn't know that embedding killing intent into flames wasn't like hiding a knife, a sharp-edged knife that embedded itself to the hilt in one's body, a hidden sword that lashed out with fierce and unrelenting vigor.

It was:

Molten lead, suffocating miasma, oozing madness.

Killing intent was not a sharp, refined blade slicing into the mind. It was a whirlwind of chaos and madness that bodily broke down all barriers in the mind and engulfed conscious, coherent thought in a cackle of insidious laughter that lingered long after the battle was over, that crept into shadows and nightmares for years, _lifetimes_.

Killing intent was not a shroud, a blanket of pressure that pressed down on one and froze their joints with fear, apprehension. It was gravity itself; it was an overwhelming force that dragged one to the ground with overwhelming force and crushed all resistance, that evoked horror and pure terror because of staring at death in the face.

Killing intent was not nervousness, unease, unsettled mind. It was a wheel of thunder that struck down in a bolt of insanity and arrogance, in a way that clearly conveyed the sheer futility and hopelessness of resistance.

Killing intent wasn't the will to strike fear into the hearts of opponents, to scare them with the prospect of death.

It was the will to _kill._

Killing intent was not the prospect of death.

It was the _promise_ of death.

Killing intent. It was–

"–enough, enough, don't you think?"

Something.

Something sliced across the fog that had befallen me; I blinked –and saw.

Lightning.

Lightning flames burned in the field like a greenish blaze of hell; they didn't burn with the blaze of surety and power that they usually did, but they burned with something slow and insidious, something _painful_, something that was almost akin to bloodlust taken physical form upon this plane.

These were my flames.

My Lightning flames.

And within them there was an empty circle where nothing burned; the pale blue of shimmering, calming Rain formed an impenetrable barrier that not even my flames could burn through. Currently. But I could break through it; if I focused this crystal-clarity, this _intent_, my _will_–

"Oi, that's enough!"

… Who was he? This strange green-haired man standing in front of the Funeral Wreaths, golden eyes –_who was he?_ He hadn't been with them in the beginning; who was this fourth member that had appeared out of nowhere? Why hadn't I noticed his arrival? Was he the last member, the Funeral Wreath of Lightning? No, no, that barrier; those were Rain flames. _Rain flames,_ and they weren't the ones of the Millefiore Rain. He was a Rain user. He… was familiar.

He was familiar.

Wait.

Green hair. Gold eyes. That _face._

He.

I.

I know him.

_I know him._

I recognize–

"Won't you just drop these flames already?" The green-haired man's teasing voice contained tangible traces of complaint, teasing. "You're always so serious and terrifying –see, this is why you're still unmarried ten years later in this future, because you're scaring everyone off all the time. Smile more, won't you? And speaking of which, you're scaring your little friends with this display too, y'know, so maybe you should consider getting rid of these… these Lightning flames all infused with killing intent?"

… Little friends?

My eyes widened slightly as the realization hit my mind –why was I so slow recently?– and I whirled around to face Tsuna and the others behind me, fanning out my arms and making a pressing motion with my hands, palms-down, and the sea of Lightning flames followed my movements and went out in a soundless sigh–

I saw it.

A slight tremble.

A small shiver.

Pale faces.

I didn't look into their eyes. I didn't want to know what I would find there. I was better off not knowing.

"… What are you doing, V?" I asked shortly, forcibly turning my attention back onto the green-haired man standing before the three Funeral Wreaths.

V smiled, golden eyes crinkling at the corners in the familiar, friendly expression that I was so well-acquainted with.

(Why hadn't I registered his presence immediately the instant he arrived? Why had it taken me several seconds of thought to _recognize_ him? It shouldn't have happened, shouldn't have–)

"You shouldn't be here."

"Oh, I daresay that I _should_," he commented airily.

I frowned.

"Did Byakuran–"

"No, no; not like that. This little excursion of mine here, it's not _official,_ not exactly," V grinned brightly. "But I need to be here since none of the others can make it and you're, well… you're you."

… What?

V openly rolled his eyes.

"Byakuran is my Sky," he said, and I was promptly floored by the sudden claim, because V wasn't– he wasn't supposed to– "Really, though, shouldn't you be protecting your Sky as well? Why am I the one–"

"_What the hell do you think I'm doing here?"_

A heartbeat of silence. Something calculative, a little speculative, slid into his eyes as he _looked_ at us–

And then V smiled.

It wasn't one of his careless, joking smiles.

"I see," he said simply. "Well. Let's call it a draw for today, shall we, my dearest little sister? You can keep Yuni with you for now."

Unspoken to his words was, _You won't be able to keep her from us forever,_ but I didn't take the bait.

Instead, I watched quietly as the older man turned his back on me and gestured for the Funeral Wreaths to follow him, and they _obeyed_ –which only further solidified and cemented the truth of his words, and they _burned._

_Byakuran is my Sky._

…

(That meant I couldn't view V as a brother, a comrade, a partner anymore. From here on out, he was an enemy.

An enemy who would have to be eliminated if we were to succeed in stopping Byakuran.)

* * *

.

"_Who was that guy?"_

_Gokudera didn't care if his voice came out rough; that green-haired man –when Tsubaki had released her Lightning flames and pushed back the choking bloodlust and darkness of the Storm flames that had nearly swallowed them entirely, there had been something far more sinister and terrifying laced through her flames than the illusion that Zakuro had produced._

_Her intent, her will to kill, hadn't been aimed at them –thankfully– but something as potent as that; something of it still shivered through the air, and _that_ he could feel. They could all feel it, and it was… _

_Horrifying, to a certain extent._

_(Gokudera knew about the theory of mixing killing intent into flames, generally used as a form of intimidation and mild paralysis. In order to be able to produce killing intent like that, one would've had to walk through a slaughter field and come out the other end alive while the ground was buried in corpses; killing was the best way to learn how to produce killing intent, after all. How many people had she killed, how much blood was stained on her hands? What horrors had she experienced, for her killing intent to be as terrifying as it was?)_

"_That… was V." The raven-haired girl shook her head in a motion that clearly spoke of trying to regain her bearings. She hadn't seemed to fully be in control of herself when she had unleashed those flames earlier, and the appearance of that green-haired man didn't exactly seem to make things any better when she had snapped out of that blank daze._

_The green-haired man who had literally appeared right in the middle of those flames of death and immediately proceeded to carve out an area of safety with his Rain flames._

_V._

_(Dangerous. V was an enemy that they were going to have to be very cautious of.)_

"_You seem to know each other," Reborn commented idly from the side. _

_Tsubaki smiled tiredly._

"_Yeah. Yeah, we do." She sighed, picking up her jacket from where it had fallen earlier and sweeping it across her shoulders. "V, he's… strong. Really strong." _

_She paused for a moment, as if she was carefully choosing her next words._

"_You know that I'm part of the Assassins' Guild, right?" She finally remarked slowly, "There's a monthly hit list that gets sent to each section, and we take individual contracts from there. V is Section Leader. For someone to be the Section Leader, there's only one requirement –complete the most assignments that month."_

_Her lips thinned as her eyes fell to the ground._

"_I joined the guild when I was eight. And, even from the moment when I first joined, V has always been my Section Leader. I don't doubt that he still holds the same title right now –hell, maybe he's even Division Leader by this point."_

… _This didn't bode well._

"_What's your relationship with him?" Reborn asked sharply, and Gokudera suddenly realized with a sharp jolt that even though Tsubaki had essentially given them a background of the green-haired man, that accomplished assassin –she hadn't said anything about her personal relationship with him._

_Which was suspicious, especially now that Reborn had pointed it out so bluntly._

"… _V is…" she hesitated for a moment, falling silent. "… He took me under his wing when I first joined the Guild. It's… it's a blood pit there, really, and he helped me from drowning in it. He's… friend, teacher, comrade. The sword style I use right now, I learned it from him…"_

_Something almost faraway entered her eyes._

"… _I learned it from him a long time ago."_

_(I learned it from him many lifetimes ago.)_

…

… _It was… hard._

_It was hard to look at Tsubaki and think, 'This is a girl who has time-traveled through numerous parallel worlds because she wants to help us,' because it was such a strange concept to even consider as real. And yet it was true. Somehow. She didn't always act like it –these days, he could look at her without automatically relating her to blood and steel, and… _

_Sometimes, there were still moments when she just looked so tired and hurt like she just wanted the world to keep on moving without her._

_It was maddening._

"_I'll be fine," Tsubaki smiled lightly in that infuriating way of hers. "V is strong, but he's not invincible. And since we use the same sword style, it means I can predict some of his attacks, to a certain degree. I may not know about the full extent of the Funeral Wreaths' abilities since I haven't come across them before, but… V, I can handle. I can handle him."_

_Did she even know what she was saying?_

_V. Even though she wasn't going into detail –friend, teacher, comrade; someone who watched over and helped her in her early days at the hellhole that people called the Assassins' Guild. He was someone who supported her in a world of blood and madness, of greed and lust, of deception and betrayal. Someone who didn't betray her, who taught her the way to use the sword that she now gripped in her hands. V was someone that she could apparently trust to watch her back, someone who was a reliable partner in battle._

_Someone who turned out to be a Rain that had aligned himself with Byakuran._

_And, for that simple reason, she was offering to kill him._

'_V, I can handle. I can handle him.'_

_(I can fight V. I can fight to kill him for you.)_

_Was she insane?_

_On one hand, he could suddenly understand how her future self had been able to go through with betraying Vongola, even if it all turned out to be an act in the end. On the other hand, there was something strangely… flattering, guilt-inducing, that she would choose them over V. Over someone who was akin to an older brother to her. But then, didn't she say that was the entire point of her repeating lifetimes in the first place?_

_Tsubaki said that she wanted to save them. To protect them._

…

… _So then, who would protect Tsubaki from her own madness?_

* * *

…

"_Hmm? What did you say?"_

_The silken drapes of the window billowed out soundlessly under the soft breeze, fear and caution etched into every velvet ripple. There was a certain tension, a certain apprehension threaded through the air –as if the whole world was holding its breath, uneasy and tense, for all that the young white-haired man's voice was light and cheery._

"_I see… so we were fooled by Vongola this time?" Byakuran tipped his head back, lazily holding the phone to his ear as his gaze focused on the ceiling. "Well, well. I suppose this means that I'll have to make another deal with the Vindice again…"_

_A pause on the other end, then a rushed whisper. A deal with the Vindice isn't something to be taken lightly, after all._

"… _I don't care what it takes. _Get Ghost out of there!"

_A rising crescendo, black thunder, rage, destruction. The air around the young man quivered and distorted, before shivering one last time and returning to its normal state again._

_Byakuran relaxed his grip on the phone, loosening his fingers one by one and watching wordlessly as the shattered pieces fell to the ground._

_For a moment, silence reigned in the room._

_Then the white-haired man turned, violet eyes focusing on the dark shadows twisted in the left corner behind the staircase._

"_How long do you plan on just standing there?"_

"… _Saa, why do you make it sound like I'm a freeloader or something?" a good-natured voice sounded in the air as the shadows rippled, and a green-haired man stepped into the light. There was nothing that marked his presence, nothing that drew attention to him, nothing that even remotely hinted at bloodlust aside from the straight-edged sword hanging at his side –and even then, the diminutive sword seemed as if it was meant more for decorative purposes rather than shedding blood._

_(Yet, all of these signs couldn't be further from the truth of the work that he was involved in.)_

_V shrugged, crossing his arms across his chest. "I already got the rest of the Funeral Wreaths back; they didn't exactly get to do much before Tsubaki almost lost her mind again, so they'll be in top shape for the battle tomorrow. I don't suppose you have another task for me now?"_

_Byakuran smiled._

* * *

…

A battle that will end all.

I briefly wondered if Yuni had chosen those words on purpose.

(Probably.)

For the others, the words suggested an end to the horrors that this war had put them through –for Tsuna and the others from the past, the words hinted at an end to the bloodshed in this future world. There was an end in sight now, a final goal for them to focus their efforts and attention on.

A battle that will end all.

Such simple words.

_Now, there is an finally end to these lifetimes that repeat over and over; there is an end to failing over and over… and over again. But this time, if I fail again, if we can't grasp victory from Byakuran, our fate will be permanent. Ever-unchanging from this moment onwards._

_No more second chances._

My fingernails dug into the palms of my hands. There was no pain.

"Byakuran feels the pressure; he will be gambling everything on this battle." _And so will we._ Yuni didn't have to say the latter phrase aloud, but those four words lingered in the air.

"Are you certain of this?"

"Yes."

"… Can you foresee the outcome?" Shouichi asked cautiously from where he was laid out upon the stretcher on the ground. The bandages around his torso had taken on a reddish tint despite the recent change of wrappings, and his face was pale.

Yuni shook her head.

"What I've seen… is a forest, in a clearing where I'm talking with you all just like we are doing right now. This forest, where the final battle is to begin…"

A small pause.

"If you think about it logically, when Byakuran shares his power among his parallel selves, he creates a connection that essentially makes them one entire being. So if we defeat Byakuran here, it is equivalent to defeating Byakuran in every parallel world that he has already taken over," she explained.

"If we defeat Byakuran here, you will be able to return to a peaceful past, free of fear."

A peaceful past, free of fear.

…

"Easily said, but not so easily done." Reborn hopped down from Tsuna's shoulder, "We've been able to scrape by with our box weapons for now, but there's no mistaking that our enemies will have more tricks up their sleeves that they haven't revealed to us yet. Come dawn, it's going to be a tough battle."

And as Tsuna promptly had a fit of worry regarding the upcoming danger, I quietly slid over to Shouichi instead.

"How bad is it?" I asked softly, small motes of green glows sparking on my fingertips. Shouichi wasn't as well-versed in combat as the rest of us; standing up to Zakuro… and then just earlier in the afternoon today, when the Millefiore Rain had hurled several box weapon attacks down at us, Shouichi had been caught in the worst of the backlash when he moved to push Kyoko and Haru out of the way.

I pressed my hand down on his torso, carefully threading tiny slivers of Lightning flames into his body to dull the pain of his wounds.

"Don't." He shook his head, shifting to grab my wrist and move my hand away. "You should be conserving your flames right now especially after what you pulled off earlier today with those Funeral Wreaths, not wasting it on–"

"It's not a waste, Shouichi." I ignored his movement entirely. "… And it's only a small thread of my flames, anyways. This is more about finesse and control than sheer volume and quantity."

"Still, you shouldn't–"

"Irie?"

Both of us looked up to see everyone in the clearing looking in our direction. Shouichi coughed uncomfortable at the sudden attention.

"U-um, yes…?"

"We're going to need a plan for the battle tomorrow. Especially since you were the commander of a base in the Millefiore and all… any ideas for a plan of attack at dawn?"

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Apologies for the late update; RL+college stuff=no time for writing. Plus, I've been facing some serious family issues recently, so that's been making things really crazy these days as well.

orz

I posted an **extra** for _Onwards Till Dawn _on my **Tumblr** awhile back; feel free to head over and take a look if you haven't already. It's a different extra from the one that was sent to 10 random reviewers in the last update, so think of it as a freebie of sorts. :3 **EDIT: Link for the extra has now been added on my profile.**

_About the killing intent thing –it seems rather OP, yes, but here's the logic behind it:_ Going off the basic premise that a person's killing intent is directly related to the number of people they've killed, and considering Tsubaki's combat experience over many, many lifetimes… that's a large number of people whose blood is on her hands.

Furthermore, killing intent is only killing intent. Like Gokudera mentioned, it's generally only used for intimidation purposes. It's not an actual attack, more like a psychological scare tactic. So unless she's facing an army in which she's hopelessly outnumbered, Tsubaki generally doesn't unleash her killing intent like that since it's easy for she herself to get lost in it, just like she did this time –in which her sending out her killing intent was a response triggered by Zakuro releasing his own killing intent first. Once someone is aware of or has already adjusted to killing intent, it's not very effective anymore.

A main part of the reason why Tsubaki's killing intent completely paralyzed the Millefiore Funeral Wreaths was because they weren't expecting it. I mean, she lost to Zakuro in the Ring Battle, and Byakuran has basically already told them about her usual techniques and how she fights. They're not viewing her as dangerous or holding her in very high regard –which is part of the reason why they were caught off guard so badly, despite Byakuran's warnings.

Hope that makes sense? :D

Also! _Onwards Till Dawn _has received over **100k views** at this point. Thank you all very much and hope you'll continue supporting the story~

Didn't get to the final battle in this chapter either, but we should _finally_ be getting to it in the next update. Can't exactly promise when the next update will be, but it should be faster than the… almost two-month-long wait that this turned out to be. (cowers in a corner) I will do my best!

* * *

**QUESTION(1): **Who remembers V from when he was (first, technically speaking) introduced in the 'Camellia Notes' section? :3 … He's actually kinda important. Especially later on in the story when we're getting into the endgame stuff, haha, but that's still a long ways off. For now. So, what do you guys think of V as a character? :D

**QUESTION(2):** Yamamoto, Basil, Gamma, or Ryohei?

* * *

**.**

**!Remember, 10 randomly-chosen reviewers will receive a short extra!**

**.**

* * *

Till next time

XxZuiliu


	27. 02: 12 As Darkness Approaches

_("Tsubaki."_

_I tilted my head, turning it to the side and catching a small glimpse of the man approaching me from behind before I returned to looking forward again after the cursory glance._

"… _Good morning to you too, Gamma."_

_I didn't want to look at him. Because. I._

_I._

_I didn't know what to say to him. I… My future self had hurt the Giglio Nero significantly. I myself had even fought Nosaru and Tazaru on the day when I first arrived in this future, even if it had been in defense of Tsuna and the others at the time. And when I had been fighting my way through the Melone Base –not all the soldiers I had encountered were White Spell; in fact, a significant portion had been Black Spell. The Giglio Nero, renamed as 'Black Spell' under the Millefiore banner._

_When Tsuna and the others fought, it was merely to fight and win. Incapacitate. Because they hadn't cultivated the same instincts that I had for encountering enemies._

_Back there, I hadn't just fought to win._

_I fought to kill._

_(It was the only way to make sure an enemy you thought was down for good wouldn't stand up and stab you in the back in the moment when you're least expecting it.)_

_I broke out of my thoughts as Gamma let out a sharp, explosive exhale._

"_Look," he said bluntly, running a hand through his hair in a movement that was something akin to frustration. "I've been informed of your… situation, and while it does help to explain your actions, it doesn't excuse you from what you've done. You, I__…__ I can't forgive. Not when so much of the blood that the Giglio Nero has spilled in this war lies on your hands –both directly and indirectly, future and present. If it was something else, maybe, but__…__ I can't forgive you, not for something like this."_

_I didn't expect him to._

_So I gave a slight nod to show that I had heard his words__–_

"_But…" Gamma's eyes drifted back towards the direction of the campsite, where the others were all gathered at, and something in his countenance sagged and softened imperceptibly. "… The princess, she… she does. She forgives you. She even trusts you."_

_Yuni._

_Unspoken to his statement was the question of 'Why would she trust someone like you?'_

"_Are you trying to go somewhere with this?" I asked lightly._

_Because, honestly speaking? I wasn't quite sure of the answer myself. Yuni was someone I could love like a little sister, but understanding someone like her was beyond me at this point. Maybe I could've, once upon a long time ago in the past, but now__…_

_…_

_For a moment, there was nothing but silence._

_"I'm telling you this only once, so listen up," Gamma's voice became harsh. "If you turn on us again, if you hurt Yuni again, it doesn't matter what your reasons are or what strength you hold. I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill you, and I will not be the only one seeking your death, Tsubaki."_

_"Aah," I smiled. "I wouldn't expect anything otherwise, if that were to ever happen."__)_

* * *

_…_

It was raining.

A ghostly blue light simmered slowly in the air as the cold night-morning mist curled its way across my skin, leaving behind a lingering chill that seeped directly into the bones. But the numbness brought on by the freezing cold wasn't something I welcomed quite so readily at the moment. On one hand, it had an almost calming sort of effect as it dulled out the senses, but on the other hand, it was _dulling out the senses._

I didn't exactly fancy having a leg go numb when V and the Millefiore Funeral Wreaths would inevitably reveal themselves. Not to mention, it was highly likely that Byakuran himself would enter the battle fray as well.

Reaching out overhead with my arms, I stretched my limbs, shifting into a different position on the gnarled tree root that I was waiting on. Shouichi had pinpointed several locations that the Millefiore forces would be likely to be approaching from; the others had scattered to other areas to lie in wait while I had taken over this one.

I was alone here.

It wasn't as if no one had offered to fight with me –on the contrary, upon hearing that I planned to face V by myself, several of them were prepared to stand together with me. Which was… heartwarming, really, but not something I could allow to happen with a good conscience; not if I had any say in how things went.

They didn't know how strong V was.

They didn't know how _scary_ he was, when he released the seal on his flames.

Truthfully speaking, I didn't have any guarantee that I'd be able to honestly defeat him –but there was no other choice, not with things in the state that they currently were. There were still four active Funeral Wreaths out there and ready for battle –Cloud, Storm, Rain, and Mist. Sun had been eliminated by Kyoya, thankfully, but there was still the unknown Lightning to worry about. Chances were, Byakuran would be bringing his Lightning Guardian to this battle as well.

So. Five Funeral Wreaths, Byakuran himself, and V.

Against our tattered forces.

If I could drag V down, then the others would be free to focus on the Funeral Wreaths –Tsuna would also have more support from them when fighting Byakuran. The Varia assassins were already on their way here, but it was still currently unknown if they would make it on time. Same went for Mukuro, who had escaped from Vendicare.

The crux of this lay in the fact that I needed to stop V before he had the chance to change the tide of battle. Because his very presence here was already a game-changer –_why_ in the world would he come here at all; why in the world would he pledge himself to Byakuran? Why would he become a Rain under that monstrous Sky?

(How the hell did this happen? _When_ did this happen?)

My grip tightened on the hilt of my sword.

… I hadn't been lying when I had told the others that I learned how to use the tsurugi from V. Straight-edged sword, tsurugi, jian. Although I later made my own improvisations to better tailor the sword to my personal usage in battle, it still didn't change the fact that the majority of my sword techniques had been learned from him.

I could only pray that the same familiarity I had with his techniques would be enough to stop him here long enough.

…

The steady drizzle of needle-thin droplets of rain _plip-plip-plopping_ over evergreen leaves and emerald grass struck a lighthearted chorus completely contrary to the heaviness in the air.

I don't think I've ever been more grateful for the fact that my jacket was waterproof.

Partially drawing out the length of my sword from its sheath, I pressed the side of my cheek to the flat of the blade. The sudden iciness sent goosebumps prickling on my skin, a shiver running through my body; it brought a sensation that was not at all unlike being doused in a bucket of ice-cold water.

Of waking up.

…

_I want to protect you._

_I want you all to be safe. I want you all to be safe, happy, alive. I don't want anyone to get hurt. I don't want anyone to die. I don't want Byakuran to succeed, not again._

_I… I really, really want to succeed this time; I don't want to fail again. I won't. I _won't.

_Promise._

_I promise I won't fail again. _

_I won't, I won't, _I won't.

_This time. This time, it's crucial. This time, everything hinges on this one outcome, so failure is not something we can consider._

_This time, I… I will protect you._

_I will protect you._

…

A heartbeat later, my eyes fluttered open, and a soft smile curved its way across my lips.

"Earlier than expected," I murmured quietly, standing up and drawing my blade. "But that's… alright."

_Because I won't be failing again._

The rain was falling thicker now. It wasn't a small drizzle anymore –nor was it a simple storm.

It was:

The heavens taking a bucketful of water and pouring it down from the sky. Sheets of water cascaded down to earth with a heavy, bruising force, but it was cathartic in a way, almost.

In that single moment as I stood in the rain, sword in hand, everything had never been so clear.

…

Lightning flames twisted out from my body; jagged flowers of green that cast dying sparks into the air and drove away the darkness and gloom in a blaze of light, twisting a crooked spire up into and piercing the sky.

I laughed.

* * *

…

_The five-man squad darted through the treetops under the downpour of rain in a black blur; only the rustle of leaves behind them and the splash of scattered water droplets heralded their presence here at all. There wasn't so much tension between them as there was an electrifying tingle of anticipation–_

_Anticipation. _

_And, for one of them in particular, a strong calling for blood._

"_Zakuro, what are you doing?" one of the figures called back in annoyance to the Storm who had paused in the midst of their run, a childish female voice laced with impatience and petulance._

"_Tch, what do you mean, 'what am I doing?'" the redhead shot back in a drawl, eyes fixed upon the direction where a violent emerald tempest of Lightning blazed like a burning beacon in the middle of the dark forest. "It's a challenge over there, don't you see? That girl… she's challenging me to battle again. Heh, just what I've been looking for."_

"_Hahh?"_

"_He's right that it's a challenge, Bluebell." A smooth voice slid between the two, cutting off another argument before the Rain and Storm before it could even begin. There was no time to be wasting on petty arguments, not right now, not when the final battle loomed before them all. "But Tsubaki isn't sending a challenge to you, Zakuro. It's for me."_

"_What?!"_

_The green-haired assassin smiled innocently at the incredulous looks he was given by the rest of the Funeral Wreaths, batting his eyes in a way that completely belied his status among them._

"… _Are you sure of this, V?" Kikyo asked cautiously. "We've seen her fight before. She is… skilled, yes, but her abilities are on par with Daisy's at most. She even lost to Zakuro–"_

"_You weren't there when she let loose her killing intent last time, were you?" the young man interrupted._

_Kikyo blinked, startled._

"_I beg your pardon, but what does that have to do with–"_

"_Why, everything, of course." V grinned cheerily. "My favorite little sister is a strange thing, y'see. I don't know why you're all thinking so low of her. I mean, even if she lost to Zakuro back in Choice, didn't Byakuran warn you about her before?"_

"_But–"_

"_I guarantee that if any of you go to face her as you are right now, you will lose. Horribly."_

_The words were said firmly with absolute conviction, the bright smile on the green-haired assassin's face never once faltering as the matter-of-fact statement came out from his mouth, but his golden eyes were sharp. Warning._

"_She's injured!"_

"_Injured animals are dangerous when backed into a corner," V blinked guilelessly, and the moment was broken, replaced by something else. Something darker. "Besides, can't any of you sense it already? Even from this distance, it feels like her flames can snap out and attack us at any moment. Does that sound like weakness to you?"_

_Bluebell frowned, "How's she even doing something like that, then?"_

"_Conviction, resolve, strength of heart?" the assassin shrugged. "How am I supposed to know the exact reason behind it? I mean, isn't that what all flames are based on in this world?"_

_"… What?"_

"_Oh, don't look at me with that expression," V laughed, waving his hands dismissively at the Funeral Wreaths gathered before him. "Tsubaki and I are very similar creatures, y'know. And I bet that she's finally starting to remember some things now, judging by that scary aura she's letting off."_

_Silence in the air. None of the Funeral Wreaths looked quite sure of what to make of his words, but he didn't seem bothered by it in the least. __The green-haired assassin merely looked thoughtful for a moment, before snapping his fingers and putting out a new set of orders._

"_Okay, so here's what we're going to do: I'll head over and take care of Tsubaki before coming back as reinforcement for you guys. We're going to try and end this before Vongola reinforcements arrive –Mukuro already broke out of Vendicare, didn't he? I think I also heard a few reports that the Varia is on their way here as well. So we're going to try to take care of this as quickly as possible; I trust that no one wants to drag things out until Ghost gets here?"_

_A short, collective stiffening. A sudden chill in the air that had nothing to do with the rain plummeting to the ground. _

_V snickered at the reaction._

"_Alright, now that that's settled," he clapped his hands together. "Let's get going again, shall we? Move out, team!"_

_A black blur; and the clearing in which the five had once stood became empty again._

_Overhead, the rain thundered on._

* * *

…

"_Yuni?"_

"_It… It's starting. No. It has already begun."_

…

* * *

"Hah!"

I skidded backwards roughly, nearly slipping again; the marshy swamp that the ground underneath us had turned into was anything but the ideal battleground for fighting an opponent of V's caliber –but in this single case it was helpful; I dug in my heels sharply and finally brought a halt to the backwards momentum, just in time to catch my second wind and dive to the side right before Rain flames could cleave me in half.

"Not bad," Gold eyes gleamed directly in front of my face, and I instinctively slashed a bolt of Lightning flames into the air –which were deflected by the Rain flames burning in front of him. V grinned. "Gotta say, I don't remember you fighting this well ten years ago, even if you've still got a ways to go before catching up to me right now. Still, guess I made the right call in sending the others on and meeting you myself."

I frowned lightly, lips thinning.

So. He was the reason why Zakuro hadn't come first. I had thought that the Lightning flames I released at the beginning would be enough provocation for the hotheaded Storm to come –he would no doubt want to prove himself superior; having gleaned victory over me once before, yet later being paralyzed under the force of my killing intent. His pride would not settle for that "blight" to him by someone he viewed as _weak._

… Well, so much for the plan of taking out Zakuro first before facing V head-on. At least his presence here fighting me meant that he wasn't interfering with the others' battles against the Funeral Wreaths.

"Honestly, though," the teasing note of complaint was ever-present in his voice as he darted out of reach; my blade only managed a shallow graze into his jacket before I was forced onto the defensive again. "I get that maybe you're a little upset at Byakuran right now, but are you really going to–"

'_A little upset?'_

… _You've got to be joking._

Nothing_ ever even _begins_ to compare to what he–_

_(Unless you also consider what R–)_

_(What?)_

I flipped, lashing out with a series of quick strikes that V blocked effortlessly without breaking stride –and dropped my blade entirely, wreathing my entire arm in Lightning flames in a heartbeat, reinforcing it to the limit and–

His eyes widened.

"Hey, hey, HEY!"

–punched forward with all my strength; directly into his stomach. Kicked out with a foot before my tsurugi hit the ground, spinning it into the air again, and caught it in my left hand in a backhanded grip, falling back into a defensive stance as I warily waited for the next attack.

The rain was dense, but not so dense that I couldn't make out the figure sprawled in the nearby foliage.

"Ah…" V's head was thrown back as he lay there against the base of the tree that he had been knocked into. "… Geez… Why are you always trying so hard? It's not like anything is going to change in the end, anyways. You've always known that from the start, Tsubaki."

For a moment, I froze. Not because he was _right_, of course, but because–

Because those damned words were so _familiar._

(So very, very _familiar_ to what that monster, what Byakuran had–

But it wasn't true.

_It wasn't true._)

…

Strangely enough, V didn't seem to be in much of a hurry to continue our battle –in fact, he seemed perfectly content to just sit there and look at me with a small smile on his face.

"… You're wrong." I said quietly, and he shook his head.

"I'm afraid that's what I'll have to say to _you,_ sister dear," V sighed. "Seriously, what's the point of fighting like this against us? You _are_ aware of the fact that this world is bordering on the edge of destruction, aren't you?"

Something sparked in my mind.

A white room, crumbling to dust.

A little girl in white, and what she had said.

World-Destroyer.

_Byakuran._

"Isn't Byakuran the reason why we're all facing imminent destruction, anyways?" my voice was short.

His was not.

"_Who told you that?" _he hissed, and for a brief instant, his entire demeanor had changed. What was once laidback and carefree became as tense as a bowstring in anger, before immediately melting back to the placid calm it once was –but that didn't mean I would disregard his reaction to that inquiry. "No. _No._ _Hell no,_ who in the world… no, don't tell me. Did Gate already come to you? Wait, if she already came then that means you wouldn't even _be_ here; fuck, that makes no sense…"

Something in me stuttered again.

Gate.

_Gate._

That name, the same name in the messages… the name that was most likely in reference to…

(But how did V know about _Gate?_)

"Gate," I said slowly, mind beginning to connect the dots from those scattered words, because –the girl, those messages, that conversation; the pieces of the puzzle were beginning to fall into place but I didn't, couldn't– "By any chance, are we speaking of a… person, a little girl, when we're talking about Gate?"

V snorted.

"_Person?_ Hell no." he shook his head vehemently. "She only happens to have the appearance of one right now. Gate, that traitor… but then again, she's probably only getting fooled, like so many of the others are. Fucking Mist flames."

What?

"… The body she's using is that of a little girl. Blonde, blue eyes, about this tall." he casting aside his earlier comment carelessly (which didn't make _sense_) as he raised his head waved a hand out to the side, carefully watching for my reaction to his description. In response to this, I carefully kept my face blank and calm, but something in his eyes darkened at whatever he gleaned from my body language –or from the Lightning flames flickering agitatedly behind me. "… So you've seen her, then."

"That I have," I admitted neutrally, even though I wasn't quite sure where he was planning to go with this.

… Actually, what were we even doing here?

After all that mental preparation and plans I went through in order to fight him, we were just… talking, after that initial clash? Everything felt so surreal right now, but… I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. If we were going to talk, then I was going to stretch this out as long as I could to buy more time for Tsuna and the others.

Strangely enough, he didn't seem in that much of a hurry to leave, either.

(… Was he trying to keep me away from the others as well? Or was there really something else to this conversation that I wasn't quite–)

"How?" he asked suddenly, breaking into the midst of my thoughts. There was a strange intensity in his eyes as he focused on me again, frowning. V, openly _frowning._ "Look, I know you have… a little problem, with your memories and all, so… y'know, the Gate we're talking about here. That's actually short for the _Thirty-Second_ _Gate of World's Edge,_ but we all just call her Gate here anyways. She's supposed to watch over the barrier between this world and ours. So if she appeared before you, the only reason she would do so would be to take you back…"

"She tried to," I admitted. "Obviously, though, I'm still here. Does that really matter?"

"_Yes."_

(… Why? How does he know all this? It's… it's V. _V._ Why does V know about this? _How?_)

"Tell me this first, then," I threw caution to the wind, a hint of unease rising in my chest. "How is it that you even know about Gate, V? What's with all this talk about another world? And- and this- this _repeating lifetimes _thing that I'm always going through, why in the world is it happening at all?"

…

Regardless. Regardless, if there was a chance that V knew what was going on, miniscule and miraculous as it was…

(But he's Byakuran's Rain; what are the chances that he's telling the truth? What if he just happens to know some scattered facts and is making this all up to keep you here? Tsuna and the others are still fighting; _they need you_ –and yet you're just standing here, talking with the enemy–)

V exhaled lowly.

"Okay. Wow." he paused. "Apparently, it's not a little memory problem we have here. It's a big one. _Colossal._ Byakuran did _not_ tell me that. Admittedly, that… actually helps explain a lot of things–"

"_V."_

"… Oh, how should I go about explaining it all…" he scratched his head and gave a small laugh, "Things sound so ridiculous when you actually stop and think about them like this, really. Let's just start things this way: I know about Gate because I am a very similar existence as to what you are here, Tsubaki. And, if you haven't figured it out already –we are not native to this world."

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Aaaaaand we've _finally_ made it to the final battle. orz It was dragged back a lot further than I originally expected it to be… but on the bright side, at least we're finally here! The update was much quicker this time, too. xD

More stuff on Tsubaki's circumstances will be explained in the next chapter, probably. And we'll be seeing snippets of the other battles going on while she has a talkfest with V. Maybe Ghost will be making his dramatic entry as well. :3

So, if anyone has noticed already –I recently went in and named all the chapters. From here on out, we'll be having chapter titles in addition to the numbers. Mainly because looking back in earlier chapters to reference and double-check things got way too confusing when everything was all numbers. :'D Titled chapters are much easier to navigate.

V says that the world is going to be destroyed, Tsubaki repeats what Gate says in that the destruction of the world is going to be Byakuran's fault, and the conversation gets derailed from there. Who wants to guess what V might be referring to be the world being on the verge of destruction?

On another note –why are there so many people thinking that the story is ending now? I know that Byakuran seems even more Final-Boss-ish in this story than the usual fanfics, but I promise that **the story is not ending anytime soon.** We've still got a **loooong** way to go before even approaching the end, haha. We might skip over the Shimon Arc a bit, but we'll definitely be hitting the Curse of the Rainbow Arc later. And maybe we'll be seeing a little more after that, too. ;3

Also!

* * *

_Upcoming new story (highly likely to be written, if only because of all the background research I've done for it so far):_

Heads up: I'm **planning on starting another new story**. xD Again.

It's going to be a **Naruto SI OC fic, Kirigakure-based**. The timeline of it will be starting sometime around the Second War, then go through all the way to the Fourth War in Naruto canon (or however far I get before the AU-ness of it takes over and crushes canon into itty bitty little pieces; to be honest, I stopped reading Naruto a whiles back and only read random chapters of the Fourth War. And apparently there was a Final Villain Kaguya or something at the end of it all? … Yeah, I'll be skipping over some details for that. No offense or anything.).

As a whole, though, I'm pretty excited for this new fic, actually –the story will be playing around with the **Bloody Mist era** of Kirigakure, as well as the **Mist Rebellion** in which Terumi Mei eventually becomes the Godaime Mizukage.

If anyone's interested in the background notes I've made so far in preparation for writing this, links to the posts on **Tumblr** I made for it are posted on my **profile**. Head over and check it out if you're interested! Even though it's really more background-based and not notes about the OC, haha. I might be adding more to the list later, depending on how the planning goes.

* * *

**QUESTION(1): **What do you guys think about adding in new chapter titles? I know I added them in since it's easier for me to navigate through them that way, but I'd like your opinions on it as well. :3

**QUESTION(2): **Honestly speaking, were you one of the people of the opinion that _Onwards Till Dawn_ was really going to be ending with this final battle against Byakuran?

* * *

**.**

**Remember, 10 reviewers will be randomly chosen to receive an extra~**

**.**

* * *

Till next time

XxZuiliu


	28. 02: 13 A Web of Deceit

"_Ready to play, Ghost?"_

…

* * *

In all honesty, I was aware of the fact that my memory was… incomplete, to a certain extent. It wasn't anything conscious or particularly troublesome most of the time; I could remember most of the happenings in the 'loops' I went through between parallel worlds, and I could remember that I needed to protect Tsuna and the others.

That was all I needed.

Everything else –my history, my past, who I _was_– perhaps I should be more concerned at not remembering anything about it, perhaps I should be concerned since even casting my thoughts in that direction felt as if I was peering through a hazy fog, but… somehow there was no alarm in my chest at the lack of memories. It had never been particularly relevant to matters at hand, and it had never even mattered before, but now, maybe…

…

… still. His words–

"We are not native to this world," V repeated himself, and sighed at the skepticism I showed. Even in light of my… unique situation of re-living through different parallel worlds, it was still a far stretch to go out and claim to _not even originate from this world in the first place,_ because how was something like that even possible? Aliens from outer space?

The lithe assassin stood to his feet in a fluid motion that I involuntarily tensed at, but he seemed to have no intentions of attacking again.

(For now, anyways. I still wasn't quite sure what to think about that. Were we going to try and talk each other to death now? What was with this sudden change of heart?)

"… I'm not sure what it is you still remember and what you don't," he said slowly, "But… supposedly, we are here on what's called a 'Trial,' in which we have a single task to carry out during our time here. A single goal to achieve at all costs within the time limit we are given."

I buried my doubt for a moment, because what he was describing– it sounded– oddly, scarily– _familiar._

A single task, a single goal.

Something to be achieved at all costs.

(… For me… everything, everything, _everything_ revolved around Tsuna and the others; I wanted to help them, protect them –_I want to keep them safe, I don't ever want them to come to harm again, I want them to be happy and be able to smile and laugh each day without any worries of death and destruction._

But… that wasn't because it was some sort of task foisted upon me, it was because they were my _family._

I stood with them because I trusted and cared for them; it was of my own volition that I fought for them, _not because of someone else's wishes, certainly not because of some arcane 'Trial,'_ if what V was proposing here was even true in the first place.

… Right?)

My hand clenched around the hilt of the sword and–

"_It's a lie."_

I gave a small start as his lip curled.

(For some obscure reason, there was something _thunderous_ roaring through my veins at the three short words even though I–)

"All of that is a lie," V's voice was short, and something dark flitted briefly through his eyes. "Whether we succeed or not in this Trial, once we return, we will be torn apart and eaten alive. This entire Trial is a complete farce to begin with."

"… You're not making any sense, V."

At the moment, it was the only thing I could think of to say.

V threw his head back with a sharp bark of laughter, a pseudo-mocking sound that was as much frustration as it was helplessness, and something about it just sounded so very chilling and downright _wrong._ "There's _nothing_ about this that makes sense, dear little sister of mine… For we are already dead, and Radueriel is only a madman playing at god."

_Radueriel._

Somehow, before I could even begin to think to ask him about what he meant by being _torn apart and eaten alive_, _already being dead when we're clearly still alive, madman playing at god_ –something in my mind fixated upon the name that dropped from his lips, and I paused.

Radueriel.

Radueriel.

_Radueriel._

(… Why was… Why was it almost as if there were something about that name–)

"Do you even know what they even call things like us? _Radueriel's children._" V smiled bitterly, "Because Radueriel is the one who tore off our wings and made us wear these corpses as physical bodies to walk upon this world."

"… _What?"_

He raised an eyebrow. "Why do you think Byakuran is even bothering to do all of this in the first place? We have a plan to change things and get rid of these shells; we only need a substitute because our original world–"

"_Stop right there,"_ I held up a hand, feeling something in my chest palpitate dangerously as my mind spun in confusion, because– _"How_ are you just jumping from… from claiming to be from a _different world_ and having this fake _Trial_ given to you and… and this 'Radueriel' and _'wearing corpses'_ and _how the hell is Byakuran even a part of all this anyways?"_

A moment of utter stillness echoed soundlessly in the air.

"You don't believe me." There was something contemplative in his voice as he regarded me, calm and assessing in its placidness. "I… We don't have time right now. I can explain the details to you later, but _trust me for now,_ alright?"

I shook my head.

"I have no reason to trust you," I said slowly. "V, I… you're like a brother to me, _you know that._ But even putting aside the lack of proof backing all of what you're saying here, there's no way for me to overlook the fact that you've chosen to align yourself with Byakuran. Byakuran wants to kill Tsuna, kill everyone, and I… I can't let that happen."

"Can't or won't?" the man asked softly, and quiet as his words were, they still seemed to hang heavily between us in the air.

Because.

Because _can't_ implied that there was something holding me back, forcing me to fight against Byakuran and protect Tsuna and the others; _can't_ implied that my actions were not wholly of my own volition but of some outer influence instead, when it was really anything but.

(Such a small slip in words; it was nothing in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't because of this _Trial–_)

"Won't," I bit back sharply, warningly. "This is irrelevant, V–"

"No," he interrupted neutrally, stepping forward. "Seeing you like this… you don't remember anything _at all,_ do you? Nothing aside from what Radueriel wants you to remember. Just… consider this; skilled Mist practitioners can manipulate memories with their flames. You know that, don't you?"

Unconsciously, my feet had been stepping back as V advanced towards me.

Step.

By.

Step.

… It was only when there was nowhere left to back into that he stopped moving forward, eyeing me contemplatively with that eerie golden gaze, and this sense of _wrongness_ that permeated the air–

"You are _aware_ that your memories have been tampered with," he finally spoke again, and even as my heart tapped out a quick rhythm of _don't listen don't listen he lies he lies he _lies– "What's to say that these memories you have about the young Vongola and his friends are even real in the first place? And even if you insist that your experiences with them in parallel worlds are real –how real does a relationship built on lies and falsehoods have to be in order to stop being true?

… It's high time to stop fooling yourself now, little sister."

Something in my mind _shattered,_ even though he was lying lying _lying,_ and a shrill scream tore through the pillar of lightning splitting through the dense curtain of rain–

(Oh. I think that's my voice.)

V shook his head.

"Just listen to yourself like that." Half-chiding, half-pity. "Your heart knows the truth, even if your mind does not remember. Sister… _it's time to wake up."_

* * *

…

_Tsuna gave a small jerk at the sudden scream, automatically twisting his head just in time to gape at the subsequent torrent of Lightning flames tearing upwards through the rain thundering down. The sudden surge of Lightning flared up into a wild conflagration of white-green chaos in the not-so-far distance, and it was…_

"_Tsubaki?" he muttered, and his lips tugged into a small frown._

_That couldn't be right. _

_Because… he had _seen_ her condition as she headed off, and… she was injured. They all were. There was no way she still had enough flames left to pull off an attack of that level, but… but aside from Tsubaki, who else had Lightning flames in this battle? Lambo was with Ryohei in practically the opposite direction, and while Gamma was with Gokudera, the older man was also a ways off from where the explosion of Lightning flames had occurred. There were no other Lightning users aside from them in their ranks–_

_Unless… _

… _Had the Millefiore Lightning Funeral Wreath finally shown himself?_

_Something jolted in his heart at the thought, a thin grip of tense worry and dark premonition mixing together and flip-flopping the butterflies in his unsettled stomach even more._

_Because if that was really the case… then, the situation had just gotten really, really bad for Tsubaki. _

_(There was no guarantee that she would be able to defeat V in the first place; now, coupled with the arrival of the Lightning Funeral Wreath?)_

_Mukuro and the others had just taken down the illusion they had trapped the Millefiore Funeral Wreaths in. So… they should have the battle well in hand from this point onwards, especially considering they had already used the illusion to gather information on their abilities. If that was the case, then he could go and–_

"_W-What the hell is this?!"_

"_Gokudera?" Concern leapt in his chest; Tsuna couldn't help but grip the communications headset he was wearing just a little bit tighter at the open alarm he heard in his friend's voice. "Gokudera, what's wrong?"_

"_Juudaime– there's– this _thing,_ it looks like some sort of demented copy of Byakuran but it absorbs flames and– shit–"_

_Absorbs flames. Something that absorbs flames._

_That… that didn't sound good, either._

_For a brief moment, Tsuna was utterly torn between going to help Tsubaki and going to help the others with this sudden turn of events. It wasn't until Reborn kicked him in the back of the head to knock some sense into him again that he turned and began running in the opposite direction of the Lightning flames. Because, as much as he wanted to go help Tsubaki, Reborn was right that she could handle herself better than the others with her experience, and Tsuna needed to go where he was needed most right now –to fight against this 'Ghost.'_

_(Tsubaki was strong, she would be alright. She had to be.)_

_But then… _

_Apparently, Ghost was the Millefiore Lightning Funeral Wreath._

_That…_

…

… _those Lightning flames earlier, the ones that he had assumed were from the Millefiore Lightning –those had been from Tsubaki, then? That was the only logical explanation. But, considering her injuries –something like that should've been impossible._

_(Too _reckless_–)_

"_Something's wrong."_

_Ghost had disappeared; he was nothing but a construct of flames being forcibly held together by the special properties of the Mare Lightning Ring. But… there was something wrong with this. Ghost had nearly drained dry _everyone's_ flames. Where did all that energy go? The Zero Point Breakthrough was a technique that absorbed the enemy's flames and made it into one's own, but there had been no growth in his power at all. The flames that Ghost had taken had just… vanished._

_Something like that –there was no way it could just disappear into thin air. _

_So what happened to it?_

…

"_Stay back!" he called out just as the others began stepping forward, tensing. __Something in his instinct, his intuition, all but _blared_ that there was something about this situation that was wrong, wrong, wrong–_

"_Impressive, impressive, impressive! Haha, congratulations on defeating Ghost so easily!"_

_Tsuna's head snapped up at the lilting, teasing voice twisting on the bare edges of outright mockery._

_It was__–_

…

"… _Byakuran."_

_The Millefiore Sky smiled lightly from his position above them in the air._

"_I feel honored to be in the presence of so many notable faces here," the man's voice came out as a slow, lazy drawl. "Cavallone, Varia, Vongola… quite the gathering, wouldn't you say?"_

_No one responded to his offhand comment, but Byakuran didn't seem discomfited by the silence in the least, merely swinging his body and crossing his legs so that he was in an upside-down sitting position midair._

"_You're a curious one, Sawada Tsunayoshi," he remarked breezily, grinning. "Just take a look at your allies here –Xanxus and Mukuro have both tried to kill you before… and yet here they are, willingly submitting to your lead. I wonder how you went about persuading them to do so? Or was it coercing? Trading favors, hmm?"_

_Tsuna wasn't really surprised by the blast of Sky flames that Xanxus hurled in Byakuran's direction for those words, nor was he particularly startled when Mukuro constructed corporeal illusions in a similar assault. _

_What _did_ surprise him was how Byakuran was able to shrug off their attacks so easily, but–_

"_Ahh, such a waste, such a waste! It's a shame that you're all running on empty right now after Ghost drew out all the flames out of you; I'm sure it would've made for a very entertaining battle otherwise."_

–_it made sense in retrospect; Ghost's appearance in this battle had changed everything and weakened them severely._

_But they weren't going to lose._

"_Started already, Byakuran? Without us? I think I'll die of a broken heart, really."_

… _Tsuna was not the only one jolted by the carefree words ringing across the clearing. Mukuro's eyes narrowed as he glanced sharply in the direction of the voice, a move mirrored by Xanxus on the other side. It took less than a heartbeat before everyone's attention was focused on the new arrival, and–_

_Something icy sprung to life inside of him, a sudden chill that had nothing to do with the incessant rain they were standing under._

"_Yo." a two-fingered salute from the green-haired assassin with a lopsided grin, before the man turned towards Byakuran again. "Sorry for being late. Everything still on track, though?"_

_Tsubaki._

Tsubaki.

_The assassin was holding Tsubaki in his arms; there didn't seem to be any severe injuries to her that he could see, but she was clearly unconscious._

_(It was only the steady rise and fall of her chest that assured him she was still breathing, that she was still alive, and it was the only thing that stayed his hand at rushing over and making sure she was alright. She was in Byakuran's hands right now; if he commanded V to– to hurt her–_

_The thought didn't bear finishing.)_

"_Tsubaki!"_

"_What the hell did you do to her?!"_

"_Let her go!"_

_V smiled, and Byakuran openly laughed aloud at the varied reactions._

"_Are you worried?" the mad Sky turned himself right-side up in the air again. "She's not dead yet, doesn't that count for anything?"_

Yet._ Not dead _yet.

_Tsuna's hands clenched into fists at his sides at the implication it carried._

"_Oh? Feeling angry, are we?" the movement hadn't gone unseen by Byakuran, whose eyes gleamed at the abrupt gesture from the younger Sky. "What do you plan to do about it, Tsu-na-yo-shi? Your friends are all down for the count, I'm afraid –there's nothing more you can do at this point."_

"_You bastard, what do you think you're–"_

"_Stay back." Tsuna repeated his earlier words again, and there was a sort of steely warmth spreading through his body this time, a sort of molten strength in his veins that smoldered and flickered as he raised his gaze to meet Byakuran's head-on. "Everyone you've… you've already done enough. I'll be his match this time."_

_Byakuran laughed delightedly, mockingly._

"_Ahh, but y'see, thing is…" a teasing note, a flutter of the eyes. "You're not my match, Tsuna."_

… _The claim hadn't been made out of sheer arrogance. Even though the first few hits he launched in the Millefiore Boss' direction connected solidly, it quickly became evident that Byakuran had _allowed_ him to hit him. Why else would he then make a show out of stopping his next punch with only a single finger?_

"_Is that all you've got now?"_

_A single flick._

_A single flick of the finger, and he was hurtling downwards; the sharp impact of the hard earth against his back nearly had his head ringing. It was only dazedly that he noticed the veritable _crater_ that had been formed from Byakuran's careless strike against him, and it was– it was bone-chilling, to think that a madman wielded such power at his fingertips._

"_Tsuna!"_

"_Juudaime!"_

"_I'm alright," he coughed out, climbing to his feet again._

… _Even if Byakuran was strong, much stronger than any of them had suspected –that didn't mean he was going to give up without a fight; this was a battle that they _had_ to win._

"_That's more like it," Byakuran nodded mock-approvingly, a slow grin stealing over his lips. "I haven't even used a tenth of the flames Ghost absorbed yet. It would be a shame for this game to end so quickly, don't you agree?"_

_Something in Tsuna's brain almost short-circuited at that seemingly-innocuous statement._

_The flames Ghost absorbed._

The flames Ghost absorbed.

_The flames… they had gone to Byakuran?_ _Oh gods, it was _Byakuran _holding all that power in his hands –and it hadn't even been a tenth of the flames that he had used just now?_

_Tsuna's eyes narrowed warily as he settled into a fighting stance again._

_(Of course it was too much to hope; since when had the odds _not _been stacked against them?)_

"_I must thank you all for being so generous with your flames," Byakuran demurred, a triumphant light dancing in his eyes. "Shall I show you… the power that I now hold?"_

…

_A sudden tension, a sudden stillness in the air, as if the whole world was holding its breath._

_Fire._

_An inferno of flames that seared through the air in visibly burning trails that coalesced and fell into something tangible, the scorching heat that was the essence of flame; insane power brought to heel and contained by a single person when such a possibility could not exist, and yet there it was. _

_Two feathery white pinions of light flared out from Byakuran's back, unfurling and gracefully extending high into the air. The undercurrent of flames that manifested in his wings coiled and snapped and crackled under the volatile strain of the sheer power that flowed through it, but other than the initial flicker of the feathered construct, the shape of the white wings stabilized and swept outwards with a grandiose elegance._

…

_A soft gasp of pain._

_It was a soft gasp of pain that redirected his attention and nearly made his heart stop._

_Somehow, somewhere during this process –the green-haired assassin holding Tsubaki had fallen to the ground with a low hiss in the back of his throat, nearly dropping her entirely. More importantly, it was at the same time that the raven-haired girl herself had uttered a small cry, eyes shooting open as she was roughly brought to consciousness again, but–_

_There was something horribly, terribly wrong._

_The moment that the shape of Byakuran's wings had lost the half-translucent quality to them and fully solidified, Tsubaki's body convulsed sharply. A sharp scream tore from her throat, one she ended abruptly by ruthlessly biting into her own arm –and drawing blood. __Her green-haired male counterpart wasn't much better off; the sharp jerks of pain that he was wracked with seemed just as torturous a sensation to undergo._

"… _D-Damn, Byakuran," the older assassin was forced to cut himself off, breath catching as another wave of pain hit his body and he grit his teeth together. "H-Hurry up… won't you? Don't… not gonna… last long like… this…"_

"_Sorry, sorry, Valerian." There was no tone of apology in the Sky's teasing voice, no sign of regret at the pain he was inflicting upon his Rain. And by extension, for some unfathomable reason, upon Tsubaki as well. "Just hang in tight there, o-kay?"_

_Tsubaki… she always tried to put up an image of strength around them; even injured, she had adamantly refused to stay on the back lines and doggedly pressed onwards to fight with them. So for her to openly show pain like this–_

_Something in him finally snapped._

"_BYAKURAN!"_

* * *

Pain.

It hit me with all the force of a freight train roaring at top speed, and it was what jolted me out of the darkness –a conflagration of fire tearing through my body, red-hot knives slicing under my shoulder blades and hooking and pulling _out;_ needles stabbing into my back and _twisting_ before being yanked back and the motions repeated–

"_Breathe, Tsubaki."_

Breathe.

Breathe through the pain.

(You've got to be kidding me this is madness this pain I can't it's not nothing I have ever this is wrong already torn off can't fly please don't not again stop it stop it _stop it–_)

"_Tsubaki!"_

Somehow my lungs found the flagging strength to such in a soft, shuddering breath, and it was only then that I realized I had stopped breathing entirely. That I became aware that the burning sensation in my lungs was a very different sort of burn than the one tearing through my body like a diabolic demon on the loose.

The pain in my shoulders suddenly throbbed once, twice, before immediately doubling in intensity. If it had merely been red-hot irons slipping beneath my shoulder blades before, now it was blazing hooks with embers falling from the tips that reached out to curve into my spine as well, and I couldn't help the small cry from escaping through my lips. Which was shameful and mortifying and pure _don't want to be a burden it's okay it's just pain just pain just pain– _dimly, I was aware that V was on the ground next to me in a similar situation, and just would someone, _someone tell me_ _what the fuck is going on right now?!_

"Don't move." A sharp voice, but I –Mukuro? Mukuro, when the hell did he– "Idiotic girl, _just stay still."_

_Huh, someone doesn't sound too happy right now. I wonder why?_

"Mu-Mukuro," I swallowed roughly, nearly biting off my tongue in the excruciating process. As it was, the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth again –or was it still from when I had sank my teeth into my own arm earlier? "W-Wha… what is… Tsuna, where…"

"Stop talking, trash."

… _Xanxus?_

"We have to move her, she can't stay out in the rain like this." Hayato. Hayato was here, too. Hayato, was he… worried about me? "It's only –hang on, is that blood?"

Someone shifted me to the side; I hissed at the fresh spike of pain from the movement. There might've been a murmured apology in response, but my mind was spinning too much at the moment to make any heads or tails out of it.

"–fuck, _how_ is she losing so much blood? There's a _pool_ of the damned stuff on the ground. Where is she even injured? It doesn't look like she–"

"Check her back."

"What?"

"Her back. Look at the other one, too –judging by their reactions, it seems like the pain is centered on their back."

"… Why are we even bothering to help–"

"Use him as a reference or a test dummy if we need to."

"–gotcha."

…

… _Don't._

There was a part of me that wanted to curl up and hide when hands reached out to me again; when someone held me down to stop my thrashing and someone else had a knife in hand –_don't let him get behind me he'll take don't let him he'll–_

"Tsubaki, calm down!"

Tsubaki.

My name isn't Tsubaki.

_Tsubaki._

Somehow, my mind latched onto that minor detail –a detail that made all the difference in anchoring me to the present; I am Tsubaki, I am Tsubaki, _I am Tsubaki, not–_

"We're not going to hurt you, _calm down._" A voice. A familiar, steady voice. "We're going to get your jacket off you and take a look at your back, alright?"

_No, not alright._

_Don't._

_Don't look at my back._

"…Okay," I whispered weakly, gripping tightly onto whoever was in front of me as there was another _stab_ of pain and–

"Oh, fuck."

* * *

…

_("Oh, fuck."_

_Gokudera wasn't just saying that because of the way Tsubaki's nails were digging painfully into his forearms. He was saying it because the Varia Storm had finished his impromptu job of cutting away her jacket and peeling it from her back, and–_

_Underneath, there was nothing but a raw, writhing mass of mutilated flesh and blood.)_

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Bit of a lag in updating; I went ahead and posted new chapters for _Incandescent _and _As Fire Blazes on the Horizon_ prior to finishing this, and I've been preoccupied with a lot of presentations/tests/essays/end of the year stuff at school, so it's been pretty hectic lately.

On the bright side, I've only got finals for two classes left, and I'll be graduating high school next week. :D

(_Incandescent_ and _As Fire Blazes on the Horizon_ are non-OC-centric stories; **KHRxTokyo Ghoul** and **KHRxSword Art Online** fics, respectively. Check them out if you're interested!)

Tsuna's battle with Byakuran will be continued in the next chapter, and we'll get some more information on what, exactly, is happening to V and Tsubaki right now. I think we've dropped several large hints in this chapter already, though. :3

On the topic of V's info-dump –I know a lot of it probably doesn't make sense; most of these points will all be touched upon and explained further later on. So please just bear with us while things are as clear as mud right now, and I promise we'll be getting around to all of it eventually. :) Small clarification: **V and Tsubaki are both from the same world**, which is a **different world from the KHR-world**. However, **it is not **_**our**_** world that they are from**. Just, making sure that's clear here.

I'm looking to update _Like Pinwheels in the Wind_ soon, but don't take my word on it. Hopefully I'll get around to (finally) finishing it before summer ends if I don't manage it within the next few weeks…

Speaking of which:

I will be heading out of the country for most of July and a few weeks into August, so I won't be able to guarantee any updates during that time. If I have internet access where I'm going, maybe. If I don't… tough luck. = w= I've posted a notice for this in my profile, too, but here's to hoping I won't fall into another hiatus anytime soon.

* * *

**QUESTION(1):** Any thoughts on V? And what's up with V and Tsubaki collapsing the moment Byakuran sprouts wings? ;3

**QUESTION(2):** Just checking in on this –how many/which canon characters seem like they're getting way too OOC right now?

* * *

.

**10 random reviewers will receive a short extra~**

.

* * *

Till next time,

XxZuiliu


	29. 02: 14 The Curtain Falls

_Blood._

_Blood spilled everywhere in a grotesque mess; the flesh on Tsubaki's back alternated between undulating wildly and twisting__ erratically, almost as if it had a mind of its own. Something in his arms went numb at the sight –and it wasn't quite entirely because of the death grip that the pale girl had on his arms. _

_Gokudera winced involuntarily. Bad word choice, there._

_"Move it, brat!"_

_There was a part of him that automatically bristled and snarled at the rude, dismissive way he was addressed. Regardless, it didn't change the fact that there was a very good reason for it right now, except–_

"_Don't… bother."_

_(That voice.)_

_The assassin –the other one, the Rain that claimed loyalty to the Millefiore, to Byakuran– gave a grim smile, edged with a vicious gleam of satisfaction; a savage triumph that shone through even through the pain and blood wracking his body. A mirrored situation of what was occurring to Tsubaki._

"_There's nothing you can do," the man rasped out roughly. "Right now, we're acting as… temporary… conduits, you could say… for Byakuran to channel his power."_

_(It didn't take a genius to figure that this current situation had something to do with the mad Sky spontaneously sprouting wings, considering that the pain was concentrated along their backs and Byakuran's sudden, spontaneous addition of feathery appendages had occurred at the same time that the two collapsed without warning. However, this begged the question of _why _–why the hell did something like this happen in the first place? And _how?

_Also, Tsubaki –she had some sort of technique to dampen pain with her Lightning flames, didn't she? Why wasn't she using it right now?_

_Unless… had Byakuran somehow gotten ahold of her flames as well?_

_When?_

_She hadn't been here when Ghost had been draining their flames, there should be no reason why she was stripped of her flame-using abilities at the moment. V was another matter entirely; he was a Rain who had aligned himself to a Sky, so while it was a bit of a stretch, he could understand V's flames harmonizing and funneling to Byakuran right now –but Tsubaki, too? Even Tsubaki?)_

"_What do you mean, 'conduits?'" Curt voice, narrowed eyes. Not that it seemed to have any effect on the assassin in question._

"_What… what do you think?" The man's body suddenly went into another seizure; at the same time, Tsubaki _stiffened_ in his arms, and the _blood–

_Someone abruptly slammed the golden-eyed assassin's face into the ground._

"_Spill. Now."_

_Sharp, biting._

"… _My, my. So demanding…" The damnable smile on his face hadn't faded one bit. "… We won't die, not from this… and you can't kill something that isn't alive anyways, don't you know?"_

_The casual way he dropped that cryptic statement only made the words even more chilling than they already were. What was he even trying to hint at here? 'Something that isn't alive anyways?' _

_They were obviously living and breathing –so maybe he was only suggesting that their lives were not entirely their own, maybe he was trying to say that they were beholden to Byakuran for some obscure reason? But… it was clear that V willingly served him, while Tsubaki actively opposed the Millefiore Boss, so something didn't quite make sense here. _

… _Or maybe he was deliberately misleading them?_

_If that was the case, then… what exactly was he trying to hide, even when he was reduced to such a pitiful, weakened state?_

"_The flames that Byakuran used Ghost to absorb from us –they're manifesting themselves as wings." Gokudera decided to push that issue aside for the moment, before they would become distracted by wherever the assassin was trying to redirect their line of thought. "Why?"_

"… _Oh no, these wings aren't just a manifestation of any ordinary flames."_

_It…_

_It wasn't V who answered that question._

_Glancing upwards– _

_Another spin, a soft laugh from the white-haired man floating in the air. _

"_They are a symbol," Byakuran openly gestured to the wings in question, spreading out his arms in a faux-harmless motion that fooled no one. "These wings are a symbol, a physical representation, that I am a being whose existence ranks above humanity. This is proof that I am something more."_

_Delusional._

_The man was clearly delusional, with grandeurs of godhood._

_(But if they were only simply wings, wings that had been formed from stolen flames –how the hell would it incite this sort of violent reaction from Tsubaki? What was the true nature of their connection with each other, exactly?)_

_And… _

_And things weren't looking good._

_From Juudaime's brief altercation with Byakuran –it was clear that the white-haired man held the upper hand. Faster, stronger, more experienced, _brutal._ Added to the monstrous amount of flames that he had added to his arsenal through the debacle with Ghost beforehand…_

…

_(No. I trust in Juudaime. Juudaime will be able to defeat him –definitely, definitely be able to defeat him.)_

… _Except._

_Except something in his throat constricted roughly the moment Byakuran caught Juudaime in a chokehold; it was only his fear of the madman really going through with what his actions implied that prevented him from charging in to Juudaime's side and potentially worsening the volatile situation. Even Tsubaki, blinded with pain as she was, made an abortive motion in Juudaime's direction –but another flare of the white wings sprouting from Byakuran's shoulders, and she collapsed again._

"_Just look at you, Sawada Tsunayoshi." the Millefiore Sky crooned. "Is this pathetic little display all that your resolve to 'protect your family' amounts to? Shall I just save you the trouble and tear out your heart from your chest again, hm?"_

* * *

Heart, pounding.

Pulse, racing.

… I was not dead, not yet, and I had no intentions of dying right now. Not right now, not when–

"_Shall I just save you the trouble and tear out your heart from your chest again, hm?"_

NO.

… Dammit, whatever the hell Byakuran was doing –it effectively made me a cripple, took me out of the battle entirely, reduced me to nothing, less than _nothing_, and I hated it. I hated this helplessness, of watching on and being unable to _do anything_–

_I can't._

_I can't let this situation continue._

But what could I do, other than be a burden for the others to look after and watch over? I couldn't even touch my flames; there was an empty void where they once burned, forcibly taken out of my grasp, and… and the pain, it was so very _hard_ to focus and I wasn't entirely sure if I was even lucid anymore. But those words, what I had heard that monster say just now–

_("Shall I just save you the trouble and tear out your heart from your chest again, hm?")_

–denial.

No.

No no no no _no;_ it can't happen, won't happen–

"_Don't touch him!"_

My voice was barely recognizable anymore, what with the body that I inhabited wracked with pain as it was. Something in my throat was raspy and dry and _grating_ when I spoke –there was the taste of blood in my mouth as well, but that was a negligible detail– anything was, _everything_ was negligible, because Byakuran had just reached out with his hands and he was going to–

Panic.

Blind panic.

It had been a long time since my mind was completely blank like this, blank save for the sheer panic and terror, and…

I don't know.

I don't know what happened next exactly; I don't know why Sky flames suddenly roared outwards to draw spherical boundaries around them, creating a separate space, but…

When Byakuran released Tsuna, I _sagged_.

Literally.

"The hell is that?" Hayato muttered from somewhere above me, to my left. Or was it to my right, maybe? "What in the world is… hang on, there's a third one heading towards them? And… wait, that's… _Yuni?"_

Yuni.

… Wait, Yuni?

Wasn't she supposed to be safe with Reborn and–

…

_Apparently not._

Yuni. Byakuran, he- he wanted Yuni. He wanted to gain control of the Tri-ni-sette. He wanted to kill us all, for daring to defy him, because he was a sadistic bastard who delighted in others' pain.

(Isn't that the truth? Isn't that why he needs to be stopped?)

…

…

…

… It was a relief, when the pain stopped. When –between the scorching burn tearing my body apart and the knives dragging under my skin– the pain just abruptly up and vanished as suddenly as it had originally came in the first place, and there was nothing but a vague sort of numbness inked over my back, and…

_And Tsuna was floating in the air, feathery white flames clenched in each hand from where he had viciously torn out Byakuran's wings._

"Tsuna…"

(Did I blank out somewhere along the lines? What happened? The Vongola Rings –had they received some sort of upgrade mid-battle? Was it just me, or did Tsuna's flames seem to be much, much stronger than they had been at the start of the fight with Byakuran? Just what was going on here? What did I miss?

And… Yuni. Yuni, she was… standing there, holding the… Arcobaleno Pacifiers? The _glowing_ Arcobaleno Pacifiers? And the flame around her body, it was… different, somehow, and I felt instinctively drawn to it… but why…?)

"Tsubaki?"

_I'm okay,_ I tried to say, but instead what came out of my mouth sounded suspiciously like something along the lines of 'Murgle,' so I gave up on coherent speech and just tried shoving whoever was next to me aside as I slowly started standing up again. Apparently, Hayato didn't take very kindly to being pushed aside like that –and neither did my body seem all that stable at the moment.

… _Huh. Where did all this blood come from? I'm getting a little dizzy…_

"You absolute _idiot,"_ the Storm growled, grabbing me the moment my legs buckled under my weight –a movement that was surprisingly gentle, considering how rough his voice was. "Just sit still. We're going to try and synchronize our box animals with Basil's dolphin to break through that Sky barrier."

"… We?"

"Not you. _Sit._"

…

Well, it wasn't like I could even stand on my own right now, anyways.

(Not that it meant I had to stop _trying,_ because I couldn't just idly sit by and–)

"Gokudera is right, y'know. You had us all really worried there. How are you feeling right now?" Even though Takeshi's voice was light, the undercurrent of worry and concern, it was… heartwarming, and startling. Heartwarming, because they were family and they _cared,_ but startling, because…

Just how bad was the damage? Everything was just _numb_ right now –wait, no, maybe that was just due to subconscious usage of Lightning flames? I couldn't really tell too well. But now that whatever Byakuran had been doing to me was gone, I could reach out for my flames again. There wasn't a lot of it left when I concentrated and tried to get a measure of whatever little shreds of battling capacity I still possessed, but there was a trickle –just enough, to–

_Open._

"Ku… ro." If box animals could speak, the vulture probably would've gone ahead with something along the lines of, _'What the hell kind of mess have you decided to get yourself into again?!'_ As it was, the look that I got nailed with conveyed more or less the same feeling, and I smiled tiredly. "He… lp…"

"Stubborn girl."

It was very odd to hear something akin to exasperation in Mukuro's voice; nonetheless, it was evident as the Mist shook his head at my actions.

But, this wasn't just me trying to be difficult, forcibly trying to prove myself somehow useful even despite such a weakened state as I was currently in. Not entirely. More than sheer flame power, the synchronization technique that Basil's dolphin, Alfin, used was a rare sort of technique where the destructive of the attack grew in accordance to each additional connection made with another box animal. Of course, a high 'base' flame power was helpful, but considering how everyone was running rather low on flames at the moment, most of the power for this attack would be coming from the combination of many box weapons gathered into a single strike.

… Which was probably the reason why Mukuro made no move to actually stop me, despite the earlier comment. Hayato, as well –even though the dark look he shot me spoke volumes about his feelings on the matter, he didn't try to stop me again.

We needed every bit of power we could scrape together at this moment.

…

Admittedly, the final result was rather impressive. I didn't think I could pull off anything on this magnitude had I been solely on my own –even discounting these injuries and assuming that I was in top shape for combat, really.

So when the result was only a _small crack_ in the Sky barrier–

… _Oh my god, someone has ought to be joking with me._

* * *

…

_It's… funny, almost, in a very un-funny sort of way, and Yuni can't help but feel that this is rather hypocritical of her. Because she is the Sky Arcobaleno, because she knows that in order to ensure a peaceful future and peaceful past, she must revive the other Arcobaleno._

_And in order to revive the Arcobaleno, she must die._

_It is necessary._

_She… knows that. She knows what her fate is, and she accepts it._

… _Or at least, she had always thought she did and would. Because in this instance –where all plans come to fruition, when the gravity and sheer reality of what she has constructed for herself comes crashing down on her mind all at once, she… she _realizes_._

_She realizes that she fears death._

_And, in normal circumstances, for anyone else… it would be okay. Because it's only human to fear death, isn't it? No one wants to die._

_But for her, it's not._

_For Yuni… she can't fear death. She can't. Because she needs to bring back the Arcobaleno, in order to keep Byakuran from destroying the world. She can't fear death. She has to make herself into a willing sacrifice in order for this to work, in order to stop Byakuran._

_There is too much riding on the crux of this one moment for her to give into her weakness and shy away from her own mortality._

_She must fully embrace her own death._

_She will die._

_She will die, and the world will be saved. The life of a single little girl, in return for all the lives of the people on this planet –it should be a simple enough choice to make, shouldn't it?_

… _And yet._

_And yet, the fear that coils in her chest, heavy and insidious… it does not lie._

_She is scared. She is so very, very scared right now._

_She is scared of dying._

_But she must. Die, that is._

_And… it will be worth it. Her sacrifice will not be meaningless. And what's just one more sacrifice, on top of everything that had already been sacrificed for the sake of stopping Byakuran? All the fear, the pain, the blood –the cold-hearted murders of countless people– it cannot be allowed to continue. It cannot, _cannot.

_So she exhales softly, before sucking in a deep breath, and the flames burning away her life flare brighter, brighter, brighter–_

"_Princess, won't you use my flames, too?"_

–_and to be perfectly honest, she is still scared, but it… fades, if that word can be used in context like this. Not fade entirely, but it… wasn't quite so sharp and poignant anymore, and even though she is startled, surprised by this turn of events –surprised by seeing Gamma standing here before her, smiling wanly–_

_Yuni finally finds her strength, her resolve, her will, and smiles through her tears._

_She… isn't alone anymore._

_And somehow, even though that doesn't change the reality of her impending death, even though it won't matter in the grand scheme of things, somehow… death doesn't seem quite so scary as it used to be with Gamma standing in front of her like this._

_And that._

_Is._

_Enough._

…

* * *

It wasn't enough.

The flames, that combined attack, Gamma leaping through to reach Yuni, it– it hadn't been enough. It hadn't been enough to stop Yuni from choosing to go ahead and _die,_ and it _stung,_ this bitter failure.

(This failure that was absolutely irreversible. No more second chances.)

Logically, there wasn't anything I could've done for her in this moment, but… Yuni. It was _Yuni_ who had chosen to sacrifice herself for us, for the world, and… she didn't _need_ to. Even though she was the Sky Arcobaleno, she was also just a kind, pure-hearted little girl, and… she shouldn't have had to sacrifice herself like that, burning away the essence of her life so thoroughly that not even ashes remained of her body.

(And Gamma had chosen to burn with her.)

Admittedly, I was… selfish. If it came down to Tsuna and Yuni, I would choose Tsuna in a heartbeat. But that didn't mean I didn't care for Yuni, and it… hurt. It hurt, seeing her _choose_ to die like that –seeing her _forced to choose to sacrifice herself when she should've had many more years to live–_

"… No," Kyoko –and since when had Kyoko arrived on the battlefield as well, Haru beside her and looking similarly horrified by the feat they had just witnessed?– "No, this can't… it can't be… Yuni, she isn't… she can't…"

Kyoko's voice trembled dangerously, bordering on the edge of tears in her distress, but I couldn't spare any more attention for her at the moment, much as I wished to go comfort her.

Because Tsuna.

Because something in Tsuna's entire demeanor had changed the instant Yuni and Gamma disappeared, burning brightly to death as they willingly gave up their lives to stop this insane game that Byakuran had started. And Byakuran, as he raged over the loss of Yuni, the loss of the 'final piece' to his plans just as he had been on verge of achieving complete victory–

_Wings._

Not… not white. And even though something throbbed lightly under my shoulder blades in response to seeing those black wings born of blood spiral out from his back, from where the white wings had once been situated, there was no excruciating pain this time. Thankfully. And…

And even though the attack he was building momentum towards, even though the power he was gathering behind it was frightening, it–

–wasn't enough. Wouldn't be enough.

_Tsuna._

Tsuna… it was cruel of me to say this, but apparently Yuni's death had provided the final push to elevate the strength of his Sky flames to new heights, and… whatever Byakuran was mustering up in response, it wouldn't be enough to stop him.

_This is our victory._

_This… is our victory._

_Victory._

…

I… had always thought that, if we ever managed to win –if we ever managed to defeat Byakuran and put an end to this senseless madness… I had always thought that I would be exhilarated. Happy. And why wouldn't I be? The source of so much of my –_our–_ suffering brought to its finale at long last, and I… I would never have to see it again. I would never have to see Byakuran standing over their broken, bleeding bodies; I would never have to watch on helplessly as he raised a clawed hand and–

… Surprisingly, it… _wasn't_ joy that I felt, not joy, not satisfaction. Nor was it an overwhelming sort of relief crashing over me with all the force of a tidal wave.

I felt…

_Empty._

…

It was… strange, so strange; this emptiness clawing in my chest, this sort of dull hollow that drowned out everything in my surroundings as I watched Byakuran be caught under the onslaught of Tsuna's flames. It was our victory, yet somehow I couldn't muster up any joy, even when… even when I had finally seen what I'd been striving so long towards come to pass.

Emptiness.

I blinked, and realized with a belated sort of startled clarity, that I was… crying.

_("Mist flames can alter memories.")_

Why in the world would I be crying? … Tears of joy, of relief, even though the emotions had yet to ring true in my heart?

_("You don't remember. You don't remember anything.)_

It's over.

After everything, it's… over. It's finally over.

_It's over. The madness has ended._

Victory, sweet victory. Isn't this what I had always wanted?

…

"Tsuna!"

"Good job, Boss!"

"You did it, Juudaime!"

As it finally started registering in my mind that _Byakuran is dead, he is dead and gone and will never come back to hurt us again he is dead –_the others began reacting as well, and…

"… So it wasn't enough, in the end."

Soft, so soft that it was almost inaudible. But V's words –I could hear them, clearly, and so I turned towards him.

He looked terrible.

"Hey there, sister," he smiled weakly, and… defeat wasn't something that suited V at all, but there was no doubt in this moment as we looked each other in the eyes and… "It's our loss, I guess. I… I know you won't listen to me anymore, but… I hope you are ready for what is yet to come. With this… you have no idea what you have all unleashed upon this world, and I can only pray that it will survive the calamity, as we have not."

… What?

For a single moment, I was completely dumbfounded.

_Even at this moment, when Byakuran is _dead,_ you're still harping on about–_

V laughed softly, raising the sword that had somehow found its way to his hands again.

"Ahh…" he closed his eyes. "… Seriously, Byakuran, dear brother of mine… Why did you just let that boy kill you? Don't you remember what you promised me?"

The lazy tone of the complaints weren't addressed directly to me; even so, I–

No.

My eyes widened.

"V, wait–"

Steel bit into flesh, drawing blood, blood, _blood._

(Suicide.)

V –pillar of strength, carefree and easygoing, reliable; even if he had surrendered himself to Byakuran, he was still _V–_ I… I couldn't… _why?_

Even more unfathomable was what came next:

Byakuran's body, similar to that of Yuni's and Gamma's, had completely disappeared. Tsuna's flames had burned him down to the bones, to ashes, to _nothing _–and so there was no comparison I could draw, but–

It changed.

V was tall, green-haired, gold-eyed. And the moment he plunged his own sword directly into his chest, through his heart, he –there's no real word for this– he _melted._ Melted, as in, everything about him distorted and flowed together before dissipating outwards as a stream of sand-fine dust, not unlike the uncovering of a strong Mist illusion, if one could draw the comparison, and–

A stranger.

A stranger was left in his place. A blond, pale-skinned European man, and just… _what?_

_Was that all just an illusion? Is V still… alive? Did he just 'kill' himself to end the illusion? Something like this –what kind of monster of a Mist would've done something like this for him? Who would have the sheer power and capacity to pull off such a technique? Even discounting the death of the host body, what–_

"_What the fuck?"_

"My thoughts exactly, Hayato." I murmured, not at all assured as I eyed the dead corpse lying in V's place. Taking into consideration his 'parting words' to me… oh, this wasn't looking good.

* * *

I could finally take comfort in Byakuran's death now.

Death.

Byakuran's death.

(Words had never tasted so sweet on my tongue. _Dead._ Byakuran is _dead._ He is dead, and will never be hurting Tsuna and the others again. He will never hurt my family again.

This is our victory.)

…

(Empty.)

* * *

_Even though Irie Shouichi was glad –really, really glad– that the world was no longer in danger of facing the apocalypse anytime soon, there was also a part of him that was sad, for the death of his friend. For the death of a friend who hadn't always been a megalomaniac, hadn't always been insane. A friend who had kept him company during his university days and played games together with him and had that unhealthy obsession with marshmallows and–_

_Yes, Byakuran was insane. Yes, he tried to take over the world and very nearly destroyed it in the process._

_But… despite all the crimes he committed, the atrocities attributed to his hands, the senseless slaughter… he still remembered Byakuran as a friend, and maybe this made him weird, but… it was okay to mourn a friend, wasn't it? _

_Even if said friend had been someone like Byakuran._

_(And maybe, maybe just a little part of him had hoped that somehow the younger version of Sawada Tsunayoshi would've been able to break apart the monstrous shell that Byakuran had crafted for himself, maybe there was just a little part of him that hoped the young Vongola could've turned Byakuran away from his destructive path. _

_But in the end, when all was said and done, when it was the fate of the entire world resting on their hands –maybe, maybe an ending like this was for the best.)_

_Yuni's sacrifice had given the revived Arcobaleno enough power to seal the Mare Rings in the past, so that they would never again be able to threaten the future. So that the situation with Byakuran would never be able to repeat itself, even with a new successor to the Mare Rings._

_It was over._

_All the blood, pain, sweat, tears; all the countless hours of planning, worry, trepidation, fear –it was over. It was all over._

_They had won._

_Everyone had been a bit… quiet, muted, considering the deaths that had occurred, but for the younger generation, the prospect of finally being able to return to the past, to be able to _go home,_ had an upbeat air stirring through, however faint, and Shouichi couldn't help but smile at the thought. They needed a little more of that type of optimism, that resilience, that bravery in the future._

"… _Shouichi?"_

_He gave a small start, turning at the call of his name._

"_What is it, Tsubaki?" Shouichi smiled, "You should head over to stand with everyone there, we're getting ready to send you all back to your own time again–"_

"_Shouichi," the raven-haired girl spoke quietly. "When everyone from this time period comes back, tell them… tell them that even though Byakuran is dead, don't let their guard down. And keep an eye on the Assassins' Guild. Especially V."_

_His stomach churned nauseously._

"_W-wait, _what?!"

_Wasn't everything already over?!_

"… _I don't have any proof, but before V went and did that –whatever he did," Tsubaki made a frustrated gesture with her hands. "He said something to me, and… I don't think he was lying. Not about everything, that is, and… just promise me to tell everyone, and… and be careful, okay? Byakuran was always my greatest worry, but… that doesn't mean Byakuran is the only danger in this world."_

_Shouichi nodded numbling, mind reeling from what the girl had just dumped on him._

… _So much for parting on a good note._

"_Sorry." Almost as if she had read his mind in a creepy Reborn-like way, the young assassin smiled ruefully. "Sorry about this. I could be wrong and it's all just a ruse, but… better safe than sorry, yeah? I'll see you in the past, Shouichi. Take care of the future and try not to let everyone pull more stupid stunts?"_

…

…

…

_When a cloud of pink smoke filled the room, Shouichi took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. __Yes, they won against Byakuran. That was the good news. But if it turned out that Tsubaki's suspicions had merit to them…_

"_Welcome ba–"_

_Shouichi balked._

_Because._

"_E-E-EH?!"_

_He was not the only person in the room who was startled. _

_Because, this. This?_

…

… _The room was full, yes. __But it wasn't filled with the familiar bodies of the Vongola famiglia that belonged to this time, this era._

_"_… WHAT THE HELL?!"

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

… And so the Future Arc draws to a close, and we'll be moving on to the next point in the story. :3 Sorry if it was kind of rushed? We skipped over some scenes and glossed over others because it was starting to become a rehash of the manga.

So, lots of questions raised and unanswered by the future-that-makes-no-sense, but I'm kind of excited for getting to those explanations soon, haha. Eventually. Anyone want to take a guess at what the next arc might include? :3

Also, I've recently made a **random video-thing** for _Onwards Till Dawn_ and posted it on YouTube, so please check that out! :D I apologize in advance for my bad art skills, and the entire thing probably doesn't make much sense anyways, especially considering how text outnumbers pictures in it. But at least I had fun making it? :D (… And getting sidetracked with online tutorials, haha)

Since links on haven't been working lately, just type in **'Onwards Till Dawn Randomness'** on Google and you'll find it. Either that, or go look on my** Tumblr** under the **'Drawing Board'** tab. :3 I am **Yuesya** on Tumblr, but you can probably find me if you type in and search 'zuiliu tumblr' on Google. I think.

Up next on my writing list: _Like Pinwheels in the Wind, rising from a thousand thrones, _and _Incandescent._

… Maybe _for we dream by candlelight _soon, too? :D It's going to be written in a format somewhat similar to _Like Pinwheels in the Wind_, mostly because I think the style suits a piece like that… and partly because I don't know if I'll be able to stick with the plot long enough if it turns out to be a multi-chaptered story as long as _Onwards Till Dawn_ is shaping up to be. Meep.

Also, I'm heading out of the country on Sunday this week. Unless we get lucky and I happen to have stable wifi connection and ample writing time on my hands where I'm going, we won't be seeing any updates for the 4~5 weeks that I'm out. And I'm starting college pretty soon after getting back, so I can't exactly make guarantees for when the next update will be, unfortunately. :/ _Onwards Till Dawn_ is definitely not getting abandoned until you see an announcement for it, though! … Too much work has gone into it for it to be abandoned just like that without a word, haha. Which I suppose is a good sign? :D

* * *

**QUESTION(1): **Any guesses on what happened to V towards the end there and why? :3

**QUESTION(2): **End of the Future Arc, except the gang is still stuck in the future! Any predictions for possible reasons why they're stuck here? Any guesses on what's going to be happening to them next?

* * *

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10 random reviewers will receive a short extra~

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* * *

Till next time,

XxZuiliu


	30. 03: 1 Upon a New Stage (Bonus)

_A white room, falling dim, surrendering at long last to the encroaching darkness._

_Then a ripple._

_A distorted ripple bloomed between the shards of darkness, and from it a tall figure stepped forth; a small frown, a slight scowl was set over his lips, as he lifted his gaze to address the other person already standing there amidst the crumbling room._

"_Why are you smiling?"_

"_Maa, maa… I didn't know you cared that much about me, V."_

_The white-haired man grinned lazily, while the green-haired assassin twitched at the response he received. _

_And around them, the murky darkness that tainted the crumbling pillars of what had once been a pristine room of light churned restlessly, marble floors cracked and wasting away into nothingness._

"… _Enough with the games already, Byakuran." Gold eyes narrowed, "Your plan… if you had actually gotten control of the Tri-ni-sette like you said you would, we could've changed things. We wouldn't even have to be in this… this, situation anymore, and you just- … what in the world were you thinking?"_

_The Sky hummed._

"_Ah, about that… I do believe there is probably something I should inform you of at this point," he paused carefully, deliberately, before smiling genially at his Rain and uttering two simple words in a candid statement that caused the other's body to lock up entirely, rigid and still._

"_I lied."_

…

* * *

**Onwards Till Dawn**

_03: "Of Insanity We Can't Escape"_

* * *

It didn't work.

For some reason –for some bizarre, confounding reason– it didn't work. _It didn't work._ The time machine that they had built _wasn't working._

And… it wasn't my fault.

Really.

… I had gotten some very strange looks and protests from the others when I initially suggested they try using the machine again without me, though Shouichi eventually acquiesced in the end –_and it still hadn't worked._ Which was… baffling, to say the least.

That wasn't to say I couldn't understand it. Even with the Ten Year Bazooka as groundwork, so to say, the technology itself was still fairly experimental. It wasn't entirely impossible for there to be a few errors or glitches to still iron out –horrifying as the prospect of such a problem concerning time and space might be.

_"I mean, if there really are problems with the machine, then it's a good thing that we're not getting sent back right now, isn't it? What if we got sent back to the time of the dinosaurs or something?"_

Can't argue with that impeccable logic, there.

Although… there seemed to be something off about the situation at large. And, even factoring in the possibility of a problem in the machine, we still had to consider the fact that it had worked in bringing us here to the future in the first place. If it worked properly in bringing us here, shouldn't it be able to send us back without issue?

… Then again: A machine that pretzeled time and space. If it was that easy to create and operate, people would be traveling back and forth in time on a constant basis.

Currently, Shouichi, Giannini, and Spanner were all running over the calculations and checking on the white disk-like machine, carefully combing through for the errors preventing us from returning to the past. I wasn't expecting for it to take very long –the three of them were all brilliant genii in their own rights, really– but then, who could've predicted the result?

"There… there's nothing wrong with the machine."

"'Nothing wrong with the machine,' he says," a certain silver-haired Storm grumbled under his breath, shooting Shouichi a dark look that had the taller redhead cringing away ever so slightly after delivering the news. Tsuna immediately hurried to smooth things over, preferably before another scuffle could break out. "In that case, why the hell are we still stuck here?"

_Why is it that we are still stuck here, even now that Byakuran is dead?_

"Don't be rude, Hayato," I chided without any real reprimand in my tone, knowing that it was more of his frustration for the situation at large speaking here rather than any pointed blame or irritation for Shouichi. "But… if there's nothing wrong with the machine itself, have you guys discovered why it is that we are still unable to return to the past?"

Shouichi hesitated.

"Yes," he admitted. But the manner in which he spoke, it was… "Yes, we've found the reason. And it's… not good."

"… Shouichi?"

"What he means to say," Spanner muttered from the side, around the lollipop in his mouth, "Is that the reason the switch isn't working is because your future selves are gone."

My blood ran cold.

…

"_WHAT?"_

The redhead winced.

"Calm down. I'm sure there's an explanation for this." Reborn hopped onto the table, sedate and steady, completely unruffled by the _outrageous_ piece of news we had just received and the implications that it carried. What went unsaid to the Sun Arcobaleno's words were _Explain, now, _and Shouichi hurried to follow.

"I'm sure I've mentioned this to you all before, but this machine –it works on a very similar premise to the Ten Years Bazooka of the Bovino Famiglia," he began, gesturing to Lambo on his left. Lambo, who seemed perfectly unaware of the current crisis we found ourselves in.

(Although, chances were, the child understood the line of conversation but was only trying to play the 'oblivious' card again. Wrestling to unwrap a piece of grape candy in one's hands could only take so much effort and concentration before it crossed into the 'ridiculous' category, after all.)

"The Bovino Bazooka, it works by switching the current self with one ten years from the present. That is the same concept we used here. Except, instead of sending your future selves to the past where they would inevitably be unable to prevent themselves from making changes and only create more parallel worlds in the process, we made it so that their bodies were broken down into a molecular state and stored in this time machine here." Shouichi nodded towards the tall wheel-shaped machinery behind him. "We couldn't risk having you guys meet face to face with your future selves; that would've only distorted time and space even _more_ than what Bya– … even more than it was already distorted."

We all pretended not to notice the small slip-up, though Tsuna bit his lip and looked to the side. Inwardly, I frowned.

"There's nothing wrong with the formula." Spanner reached for another lollipop, eyeing Lambo warily when it looked like Lambo was trying to decide whether he wanted to give up on the grape candy in his hands and make a move for one of his lollipops instead. I couldn't help but quirk a small smile at the sight, serious as our current predicament was. Silly Spanner. "It should've worked."

"It should've," Giannini reaffirmed, nodding confidently. "Irie did a good job with the designs. There aren't any errors from what I can see, either."

Shouichi smiled weakly, "… Thanks. Well, when we were checking it just now –there's no mistake with the machine itself. But the compartments in which your future selves were kept…"

_They were empty._

…

"… Does that have anything to do with the function of the machine itself, though? I mean –even, even if our future selves are missing from the machine, as long as we're sent back, they should just appear here, right?" Tsuna asked anxiously, and it made sense, in a manner of speaking. After all, it wasn't like the Ten Years Bazooka _required_ locking both present and future selves in a fixed location in order to make the switch between space and time. Only one end was needed –the present self– and after the present self entered the bazooka, the switch with the future self, no matter where the future self was, would automatically be made.

Wasn't that always how it worked whenever Lambo fired the bazooka? No matter where his future self was, what his future self was doing at the time, as long as he fired the bazooka at himself, he always switched places with his future self. So in a similar vein, given that this white machine was based on similar blueprints to the Ten Years Bazooka, then–

"Theoretically, it wouldn't matter and the machine should work as it usually does." Shouichi nodded to Tsuna's point, before letting an apologetic note enter his voice. "However… this is only a guess on my part, but the Ten Years Bazooka itself only accommodates for one passenger. Since the machine I built accounts for multiple, that… maybe destabilizes things a bit. While in theory the time machine should still work even if your future selves aren't being stored inside, judging by the obvious fact that you're all still standing here and not in the past… I'm guessing that calculated locations for both past and present selves are necessary for the machine to work. Sorry."

"I-It's not your fault, " Tsuna shook his head wildly. "I mean, you tried your best, right? And… no one could've saw something like this coming, anyways."

"Do you have a way to fix this, though?" I asked slowly, "If it's only our future selves being missing that's throwing off the machine… then, still theoretically speaking, if we find our future selves and return them to where they're supposed to be inside the machine, we'll be able to return to the past, right?"

"… Yes."

"How did something like this even happen in the first place?" Takeshi suddenly questioned, drawing everyone up short for a moment. "Where exactly do we even go to find our… future selves? And with what you've said so far, our future selves went into the machine the moment we arrived here, right? So… why are they missing now?"

Silence.

Because–

After the fight at the Millefiore base with Shouichi as part of 'training,' the time machine had been carefully moved to the Vongola base. There was one of two possibilities for the reality of missing future selves that we now faced –our future selves had either been removed sometime during the machine's transportation to the base, or sometime after the transportation when it was already inside the base. Because during the time we had been at the base, Shouichi had shown us projections of our future selves, which meant that they had been in the machine at the time.

So if our future selves had disappeared during the transportation process, it would implicate Shouichi, Spanner, or Giannini being responsible, which couldn't be right. Even though they weren't exactly frontline fighters, they had contributed greatly to the fight against the Millefiore, against Byakuran. Shouichi himself had been a player in Choice, as well. And as such… for them to betray us like this, it wasn't _possible._

Which left the second option: that our future selves went missing sometime after being transported to the Vongola base. And that meant we had an enemy capable of completely bypassing our security without us being any they wiser, clearly aware of the time machine and how it worked, who deliberately removed our future selves to trap us here in the future.

… This wasn't looking good, not by a long shot.

(What if someone wanted to kill our future selves? Would we even be able to know? _Why_ would they perform such an operation?)

_You have no idea what you have all unleashed upon this world, and I can only pray that it will survive the calamity, as we have not._

I shook my head, banishing V's haunting voice from my mind and stubbornly ignoring the looks I received for the sudden motion.

"We don't know who broke into the base to take your future selves," Shouichi finally said. "But… well, this is the Vongola's final base for a reason. It might take us a bit to track them down, but don't worry. We'll find them. We'll find them, and get the containers with your future selves back. There's a way to keep track of the containers' status, actually… if they're destroyed, this machine will probably explode as well, so seeing as it's still unharmed at the moment, your future selves are still safe. It's okay, we can figure this out together. You'll definitely be able to return to the past."

(… I hope.)

* * *

"… _Tsuna?"_

_He gave a small start of surprise at the soft voice breaking into his thoughts. Tsubaki had followed him out here?_

"_Tsuna…" there was a small frown on the raven-haired girl's face, and Tsuna gave in to the urge to duck his head. "It's not… what are you doing out here?"_

'_Out here,' being in front of a certain coffin in a small, secluded grove. __The coffin for the Sawada Tsunayoshi of this time and world. His future self –who was responsible for bringing them into this hellish future._

"_I –not much," he murmured softly, and Tsubaki didn't look convinced by him in the least. "It's… nothing, really."_

"'_Nothing,'" she repeated skeptically. "Right. People stand in front of their future selves' coffins because of 'nothing.' When did you get so ever morbid, Tsuna?"_

_Silence reigned in the brief time that it took for her to stride over from the top of the clearing's slope to where he was standing; when she finally was by his side, she reached out to take his hand–_

_Her fingers were cold._

"_I," she started and paused, hesitating as if she wasn't sure what to say, how to continue. Biting her lip, before forging on again with her words. "I'm probably not the best person to talk about this. I mean, I guess you guys all know about this, even though we've never really talked about it so bluntly face to face, but… I've killed a lot of people before, Tsuna."_

_He stiffened. Because–_

"_To be honest, I… don't really remember what it's like anymore." she admits, "This hesitation. Regret. The thought of, 'Wasn't there some other way I could've resolved this without killing him?'"_

–_because, how did she know why he was out here by himself? When he… when he… _defeated_, Byakuran, there hadn't been much time for reflecting on his actions, for contemplating what he had done with his very own hands. All that had mattered at the time was protecting his friends, his family, and when Yuni and Gamma had sacrificed themselves to seal the power of the Mare Rings in the far past, something in him had just gone and–_

"_And… there's not much I can say in this case, but sometimes, death is the only answer. Byakuran," something dark twisted into her voice at the very name of the man. "I hate him. Because… in every world, I always watched everyone around me die at his hands. He was in every way the root of suffering, so… I can't say that I'm sad to see him dead, Tsuna. I really can't. He wanted to take control of the Tri-ni-sette and rule the world_… _or destroy it, if he couldn't obtain it as his plaything.__"_

_Her fingers tightened around his._

"_You've never liked killing," she said quietly, voice soft in a way that it had never been before. "I'm sorry I can't comfort you in that. I'm sorry I can't take any of this guilt you're feeling from your shoulders. But… for what it's worth Tsuna, I'm really, really glad that it's you who won that fight."_

_(I'm glad that you are the one who survived. Please don't die.)_

"… _I was scared," Tsuna admitted, and somehow something lightened in his chest when he said it aloud. "I was… scared that Byakuran would…"_

_(I was scared that Byakuran was going to hurt my family, kill us all. I didn't want that to happen, but even in the end, I… I wanted to stop him. But did I really want to kill him, even considering everything that he has done?)_

_He didn't finish the sentence, but she understood what he was trying to articulate, and another small squeeze from her on his hand was somehow enough for them in the brief silence that washed over them peacefully._

"… _How is your back?" he finally asked. What he didn't ask was, 'What did Byakuran do to you back there during the fight when he suddenly sprouted wings, are you still okay?' but she seemed to know what he's asking anyways._

"_It looks a lot worse than it actually is," Tsubaki shrugged lightly, but Tsuna's eyes traced the stiffness of the movement. "Surprisingly. I think it might've done something to my flames rather than just simply inflict physical damage –my flames are recovering really slowly this time. Then again, it might be because of… extenuating circumstances, I guess_…_ That, and the medication I was taking awhile back."_

"_Medication?"_

_She waved a hand airily. "Don't worry about it, Tsuna."_

_Tsuna was not at all reassured by her careless flippancy that probably didn't come off as casual as she hoped for it to be._

"_If Byakuran's death is bothering you… go talk to Reborn if you must, or just hang around everyone more. Don't just run off on your own again like this, alright?" Tsubaki shook her head, changing the topic. "I know you don't want us to worry, but we're your family, Tsuna. Worrying about you is our job, yeah? And… you have no idea how much worrying Hayato is doing right now with you missing from the base. Before I headed out, I think I heard some explosions going off in the northern side…"_

_Tsuna paled._

* * *

In retrospect, I really wanted to kick myself in the head for not thinking of it before.

Reborn was used to killing. Hayato was used to the darker side of the mafia. Tsuna was decidedly _not._

And it was Tsuna who had killed Byakuran during the battle.

None of us had thought too much on it at the time, too relieved by Byakuran's death to be considering much else, but… even if Byakuran was a monster who _deserved_ death, Tsuna was the one who had fought and killed him. Tsuna, who… really hadn't had much exposure at all the darker underbelly of the mafia world. Who had known only the life of a civilian before Reborn came crashing into his life, and even still, remained relatively innocent of the blood that tainted his line –until now, at least.

I hadn't been lying when I told him I couldn't relate to what he was feeling in the aftermath of having killed another person.

But… I must've said _something_ right, because something in Tsuna seemed lighter than it had been when he had stood in front of the coffin of his future self. He wasn't perfectly alright, but the others would fix him –Tsuna never liked killing, but when it was in defense of his family, of those he truly loved and cared for, there were few lines that he wouldn't cross for that.

(Even if the Tsuna of _now_ still had yet to realize that aspect of himself.)

It was as we were walking next to each other on our way back to the base that it happened: being waylaid on the road.

Two teens, relatively young and harmless-looking… it wasn't unusual that we had been chosen as targets. What _was_ unusual about it was the location in which we had been surrounded by the band of men that melted out from the shadows of the forest's trees. Because this location was fairly close to the Vongola base, which had been specifically been chosen to be constructed in an out-of-the way, _secluded_ area; unassuming and out of sight.

"Who sent you?"

The man spat in my face. I ducked, and knocked him out with the hilt of my sword, before turning on to the next one.

"Don't act all high an' mighty, ya shitty little–"

Tsuna's eyes narrowed. While he hadn't been as vicious as I had in attacking the men who had thought to ambush us on our way back to the base, the Sky flames burning on his hands had been more than enough for the men to be wary of him –in some ways, they instinctively regarded Tsuna as the greater threat out of the two of us, which wouldn't be wrong, really.

The man's words choked off in the back of his throat.

"You are trespassing," I told them, voice cold. "This land belongs to Vongola. I have every right to kill you all where you stand, and no one would say a second word about it. If you value your lives–"

Laughter.

A harsh bark of laughter from the man in the back, one whose posture oozed confidence, and his bearing –perhaps the leader of this ignorant, lawless troupe?

"Vongola, Millefiore, those fuckers' days are over," he declared arrogantly, callously crossing his arms across his chest as he bared his teeth in a wide grin. "Even if they didn't beat each other halfway to death with that little war of theirs, it's not like they'll be able to do anything in face of the strength of the Shimon Famiglia!"

.

* * *

**_Bonus._**

* * *

_Extra: "It's You"_

* * *

.

"Tell me the truth: it's _you_, isn't it?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," the raven-haired girl says wryly, and the white-haired teen glares at her.

"I didn't want to believe it when I first heard it," he says quietly, dangerously, with the air and authority that only a Sky possesses with its very being. "But with all evidence pointing to the contrary… I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me yourself._ Tell me you didn't do it."_

She hesitates a heartbeat too long.

"I didn't-"

The girl chokes off, slim fingers flying up to clutch at the hand strangling her throat.

"You told me," the white-haired teen growls, "You told me it was just an act. Holding up the pretense for Radueriel, just like how he _wants_ it to be, so he wouldn't suspect anything. You've been lying to my face all this time, haven't you?"

_How can you find it in your heart to do this? To betray us?_

"Traitor," he hisses in her ear, and drops her on the ground disgustedly. "You would forsake us for _them?"_

The girl glares, fire burning in her own eyes as she looks up defiantly.

"The dead won't come back to life," she says quietly. "Your campaign of vengeance is useless."

"Is that what you think?"

_Do you not trust me? Me, your-_

"Yes."

…

"… Get out."

He barely hears himself speaking.

"I-"

"Get. _Out."_

The last word is spat in a hiss, and the girl flinches back… before her eyes harden again, and she looks up resolutely, with a fire that no longer burns for him.

"I was given an offer," she says simply. "I refused it. I refused it, because… well. It doesn't matter anymore, does it?"

Bitter laughter.

"Next time you see me," the girl says, "It shall be as a new person. Goodbye, brother."

Part of him hadn't believed her, then. Part of him wonders what would've happened if he had called her back, apologized. Part of him wonders what would've happened if he hadn't been so mindless with his anger, his hatred, and had simply heard out her reasoning before explaining to her in simple steps why he took the actions he did-

(But he is a Sky, more than explaining himself to them, he wants them to _trust_ him, to trust that he is making the right decision and follow him, not question and counter him every step of the way.)

He doesn't hate her. Never has, never quite will, but she _betrayed_ him in one of the worst ways possible, and… forgiveness has never been one of his strong suits, he admits. And so he hurts her, because she is a _traitor_, because she of all people he had thought would always stand by him and-

…

…

…

(In the beginning, they are still brother and sister. Brother and sister.

And then they become Byakuran and Tsubaki.)

.

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

In wake of the chaotic power vacuum left by the fall of the Millefiore leadership and the Vongola's deterioration in strength, the Shimon makes their appearance –and with Tsuna and his friends stuck in the middle, trapped in the future as they are, there is no way they will be able to stay clean of this mess. Just who kidnapped their future selves, anyways? And _why?_

;3

Hope the explanation for the malfunction of the time machine and why the current generation is still stuck in the future makes sense. If not, feel free to ask questions –but responses to questions will depend solely on whether or not I can find stable internet access where I'm going, so responses might be really, really delayed. I apologize in advance for that. (Rolls around on the ground helplessly like a turtle.)

Don't worry if the extra doesn't make sense to you yet. It will. Eventually. Readers who got the last 'lucky 10 extra' will probably have a leg up in understanding it, though this wasn't done intentionally. xD

... And so the third arc of _Onwards Till Dawn_ begins? :D No more canon third-wheeling for this arc, haha. Can't exactly do that even if I wanted to, at any rate.

The usual 10 reviewer-bonus for each chapter has been canceled and placed as a chapter bonus here since I'll be on vacation and can't guarantee getting around to sending them through PM and all, so everyone gets to enjoy a short bonus this chapter! ;)

The third arc_,_ starring: The Shimon Famiglia. And a little bit of the Assassins' Guild that most people have probably already forgotten by this point, haha. So, speaking of which:

* * *

**ATTENTION, PLEASE.**

**ORIGINAL CHARACTER SUBMISSION STARTS NOW. PM/REVIEW ARE BOTH FINE.**

… So, remember the whole thing about letting readers submit OCs for the Assassins Guild? Yeah, we're going along with that after all, though the _influx of new characters will definitely be kept to a minimum_. :D Note that some OCs might only get a **vague mention** or only be a **minor role** in a **passing scene**, and the **death of OCs **is also fairly likely to occur. **Not necessarily for every OC, of course**, but we're just putting up **fair warning** now so people don't complain about it earlier. And if they do, they will be summarily ignored or redirected here.

* * *

**OC SUBMISSION FORM (1-8):**

**1\. NAME**

**2\. GENDER**

**3\. AGE**

**4\. APPEARANCE**

**5\. PERSONALITY**

**6\. WEAPON USED IN COMBAT**

**7\. FLAME TYPE (or: Not a flame user)**

**8\. (OPTIONAL) Any extraneous details you feel necessary to add.**

**WE ARE LOOKING FOR OCS OF VARIOUS AGES AND ETHNICITIES, SO PLEASE FEEL FREE TO BE AS CREATIVE AS YOU'D LIKE ABOUT THAT. (AND PLEASE BEAR IN MIND THAT THIS IS ONLY AN INVITATION FOR DIVERSITY, NOT A CALL FOR AN INFLUX OF MARY SUES/GARY STUS.)**

Note that this form is only a basic guideline for your OC; **Zuiyun and I reserve rights to change or tweak things to the submitted character as we feel is/are necessary**. Number eight on the list is strictly optional and added just in case; if we end up getting several paragraphs' worth of writing there, it will be glossed over entirely. Consider yourselves warned.

Number six may end up being ignored as well if the weapon is too esoteric without good reason. There is no section for OC history because either: 1) History of the OC won't matter in the story, or 2) History of OC will be altered to suit purposes of the story.

_Also, please keep in mind that even if your OC does not appear for this arc, there is still another arc later on in the story where the Assassins Guild will be active._

_Okay, how many OCs will be accepted?_ We don't really know at this point. However, it's not likely to be a whole lot, so –just saying it now: If you submit an OC and it turns out that your OC never makes an appearance throughout the entire story, _don't start complaining to us_ because this **OC submission does not guarantee an OC's placement in the story**.

Besides, OCs from this submission period will most likely only be playing minor roles even if they are accepted. And please remember that this process is entirely experimental for us; we'll see how this entire thing goes and make changes accordingly. :3

* * *

**WARNING: OCS MAY NOT BE WRITTEN ENTIRELY ACCORDING TO HOW THEY ARE DESIGNED ON THE SUBMITTED APPLICATION FOR THE SAKE OF THE STORY, AND FOR THE SAKE OF MINIMIZING SUE-NESS TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITIES. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE ANY CHANGES WE FEEL NECESSARY TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE STORY AS A WHOLE.**

* * *

Hope you guys have fun with that while I go on vacation and Zuiyun gets ready to head out, too. :D Best wishes for everyone to enjoy their summer~

… I'm going to be so miserable in the burning dungeon that also doubles as mosquito hell. (Sobs)

.

* * *

**QUESTION(1): **Please refer to the bolded text above and submit an OC for the Assassins Guild! :D

**QUESTION(2):** Who of the Shimon Famiglia are you looking forward to showing up first? Any reasons why?

* * *

**The usual reviewer bonus is included in the chapter this time since I can't guarantee I'll get around to sending PMs. Free bonus for everyone! We'll probably resume the lucky 10 draw next chapter.**

**No exclusive bonus for 10 lucky reviewers this chapter, sorry. Still, leave a review with your thoughts? :3**

* * *

I'll be out of the country on a plane ride tomorrow morning. The speed of responses to any questions will depend purely on whether or not I can find stable internet access where I'm going. And thus, apologies in advance for any inconveniences that this might cause.

Till next time,

XxZuiliu


	31. 03: 2 Next Step (Bonus)

Shimon.

It was a name that sounded vaguely familiar –the sort of familiar in which something had probably been heard in passing a few times, but was never quite of any importance or prominence in the vein of conversation and so faded to the back of the mind. At any rate, it was certainly a name that stood out _now; _if nothing else, then for the simple fact that it was this 'Shimon Famiglia' that was stepping up so brazenly to seize power.

The news of Byakuran's death had probably gotten out by this point, which would account for them making their move at this point in time. Coupled with how the Giglio Nero had long been torn down by the Gesso, and how the Vongola Decimo was already "dead," along with most of his guardians… it wasn't strange that there were other famiglias out there that wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to expand their power.

What was strange about this, however, was that there _were_ famiglias out there capable of acting on this opportunity.

After all, the reign of the Millefiore had led to not just the fall of the Giglio Nero, but many other famgilias as well. Those who refused to take the Millefiore banner generally fell under one of two categories: either they flocked under Vongola instead, or they were killed. Of course, it wasn't impossible that a famiglia would slip away unnoticed from the Millefiore, but it wasn't likely. Not unless the famiglia in question was small and weak, in which case it wouldn't matter anyways, since they would never be able to muster up the strength for what the Shimon was attempting right now.

A famiglia that was small and weak wouldn't dare to challenge Vongola, even if Vongola's strength had deteriorated greatly from what it been prior to the war with Millefiore. The Shimon's current actions meant that they were clearly the opposite of small and weak, but if they weren't small and weak, how were they able to escape the notice of the Millefiore entirely?

The smugness worn over the would-be bandit's face only served to increase my ire.

"'Not like they'll be able to do anything in face of the strength of the Shimon Famiglia,' is it?" I parroted the man's words back at him languidly, blandly. "… How cute."

Sword in hand, I stepped forwards and–

_"Tsubaki."_

(Tsuna.)

I paused, glancing back at the Sky standing behind me. He seemed to know exactly what I had planned in mind for these men, and everything in his eyes right now gave the order to _stop, don't go too far._ Even though they were enemies who wouldn't even blink before slitting the throats of a pair of innocent children, he still didn't want to go to any… _extreme_ lengths in dealing with them.

"… Tsubaki, please don't."

_There's been enough death already, isn't there? _… _Please don't, Tsubaki._

…

"Fine," I exhaled, loosening my grip on my sword, letting it slide back into its sheath. My gaze on the men before us hadn't wavered –even now, there was still nothing resembling fear on their faces. They were arrogant, smug in their assurance that a pair of kids would never have the guts to actually go through with their threats to kill.

These men were complacent fools, and I planned to rectify that. If not through culling a few of their number, then…

"I'm sure Reborn would love to have a chat with these gentlemen."

Upon hearing that, they _blanched._

"T-The Arcobaleno are dead! Millefiore killed them all! _You lie!"_

In response to this accusation, I simply smiled.

* * *

_"So, what do you think?"_

_Another scream rang loudly, shrilly, through the air, and Shouichi winced, inwardly glad that Tsuna was nowhere near this part of the Vongola base at the moment. He wondered if the young Sky had known what he would be subjecting the would-be bandits to when he had handed them over to Reborn; Tsubaki, at least, rarely engaged in the more creative methods of extracting information unless irritated or provoked. And these men, their deaths had been all but guaranteed the moment they stepped into Vongola territory with dark intentions. A quick, clean death, as opposed to a torturous one that was long and drawn out, purposely prolonged_…

_In some ways, Tsubaki was eerily similar to the Sun Arcobaleno in how easily they both spilled blood. The difference between them, though, meant that while Tsubaki didn't mind bloodying her hands, she never went out of her way to do so if there was an alternative, extenuating circumstances notwithstanding. _

_Of course, while it wasn't as if Reborn reveled in drawing blood from his enemies, just_… _he was all about efficiency._

_Say that there was an interrogation situation in which there were two ways to go about doing so: one was fairly bloodless but held a chance of being less effective, while another was much more gruesome, but also held the guarantee of being much more effective. As long as it wasn't crucial, vital information in question here that had to be obtained absolutely, Tsubaki would go for the former technique._

_Reborn would go for the latter._

_(And perhaps, that was only one of the many reasons why Reborn was Number One in the underworld for these matters.)_

_"Shouichi?" the young girl next to him asked again, and belatedly he realized that he'd missed whatever question she had asked in the first place. "_… _Shouichi, something on your mind?"_

_"It's nothing," he replied quickly._

_Tsubaki gave him a strange look._

_"_… _Well, if you say so. As I was trying to ask earlier_… _have you ever heard of the Shimon Famiglia before?"_

_"Shimon?" Shouichi blinked. "Are those guys in there from the Shimon?"_

_"Even if they're not officially part of the Shimon Famiglia, they certainly seem to be taking Shimon orders," Tsubaki shrugged bonelessly, sliding lower against the wall she was leaning on. _

_"Well_…_" he said slowly, "I don't recall the Shimon Famiglia ever coming up on the Millefiore's lists, so I can't say anything for certain. The name itself does sound oddly familiar, though."_

_"Same here. But I don't remember where I've heard it before." There was a small lull in their conversation as another bloodcurling scream rang through the air. "I suppose it's not impossible that they're just an extremely small famiglia, but it's just_… _unlikely, Shouichi. By the sound of their words, it's like this Shimon is aiming to become the central power replacing Vongola and Millefiore, and it's_…_"_

_"Unsettling," Shouichi nodded. "I'll go take a look and see what I can find out about them."_

_"That would be appreciated."_

_The two of them looked down to see the Sun Arcobaleno who stepped out from an open doorway, clean and immaculate and not in the least disturbed by the job he had just done. _

_"Reborn," Tsubaki nodded respectfully towards the pseudo infant. "Any news?"_

_"We'll hold a meeting once Shouichi, Spanner, and Giannini have finished compiling information." the hitman responded, before gesturing to the room he had just exited. "Someone take out the trash. I will visit my contacts to see if they have uncovered anything."_

* * *

Although there was this new threat of the Shimon Famiglia to consider, in the end there was still part of me that considered this Shimon issue a problem that should go to the Vongola generation that originally belonged to this future timeline. I had not forgotten our priority, which was to find our future selves so we could operate the time machine to return to the past.

(The two problems were separate from each other. If we worked on one we could not focus our attentions on the other –this explained more than a little bit of the animosity and irritation that I currently held towards the Shimon name, but it did nothing to change our situation, the stalemate we found ourselves in.)

"From what we know so far, the Shimon haven't been making any large moves yet. Most likely, they're just testing defenses and gauging reactions, though that isn't likely to last."

No surprises there.

"The Shimon have always been a rather small famiglia," Spanner looked up from the laptop in front of him. "But historically, they've had close ties to Vongola during Primo's time."

… Well that was new.

"The family name of the Shimon Boss is 'Kozato,' though the identity of the current boss is unknown. And it's said that the flames of the Shimon Famiglia are special… there are a lot of differing rumors as to just what the 'special' aspect about them is. We'll have to do some more research on that before we can come to any conclusions."

"Wait, I'm sorry but can we just backtrack for a moment there?" Tsuna blurted out, eyes wide. _"Historically had close ties to Vongola?_ Why did they even attack us in the first place, then?!"

"… Several reasons," I shrugged. "One: Just because Vongola apparently had close ties with Shimon in the past, doesn't mean that it also holds true for the present. Two: History is written by the victors, so it's entirely possible that the history accounts are false. Maybe Shimon was oppressed by Vongola in the past, so that's why they're trying to retaliate by replacing Vongola as the centerpiece of power. Three: Tsuna, when we were attacked, those men didn't even recognize us. It could just be coincidence… though, I suppose that would still mean they knew full well they were attacking someone of Vongola. Huh. Never mind that, then, actually."

"But-"

"What I'm confused about," I continued without breaking stride, "Is how this Shimon Famiglia managed to remain unnoticed by anyone for so long. If they've managed to gather forces and establish themselves as a strong power so quickly, that means they're not the weak little famiglia that all evidence seems to point towards if you just look at statistics. Think about it: The Shimon have been practically all but invisible up until this point. If they're looking to gain power or bring down Vongola, that explains _why_ they waited until now to act, but it doesn't explain _how_ they were able to hide so well under the radar in the first place."

Unspoken was _If they can disappear once, they can do so again. _And the simple idea of being able to bide their time and hide their strength so well, so completely, was…

"… Mist user, most likely," Spanner remarked.

"A strong Mist on their side? I suppose that might explain it…" Shouichi frowned. "I see your point, Tsubaki. That aside, for all intents and purposes, the Shimon aren't in hiding anymore at this point. If their goal is power, then the first thing they'll want to do is to solidify their authority by taking down Vongola. Even if Vongola has been severely weakened, the Vongola name still holds weight: there's no way we won't be targeted. And… it won't be easy."

"Well, we've already beaten Millefiore, haven't we?"

_What can match up to the threat that Byakuran posed to us all?_

Part of me felt inclined to agree, but…

"Shouichi is right, Takeshi." I smiled wryly, "With all the influence that the Shimon is gathering amongst mafiosi right now… the war between Millefiore and Vongola left everything in tatters. Right now, the Shimon is calling together gathered strength, and the idea of replacing a power as strong as Vongola to these scattered men, these survivors, is _tantalizing._ Also… has anyone ever wondered why Byakuran insisted on playing Choice, on fighting us only with his Funeral Wreaths, instead of just sending in all his troops and overwhelming us with sheer numbers alone?"

"Sheer numbers…?"

"She has a point," Shouichi gave me a quick glance from the corner of his eye before he turned again to address the room at large. "The Millefiore forces _vastly_ outnumber any manpower that Vongola can hope to muster up. If… If it had been an all-out assault directly on the base, no one would've survived. We took a gamble; we gambled that Byakuran would treat everything as a game, gambled that he wouldn't want an easy victory, gambled that he would leave us a chance to succeed, and…"

"And that led to his downfall," Reborn finished for him easily. "It was a gamble, but it was one made with consideration to Byakuran's personality and what we know of him. On the other hand, we know next to nothing about the Shimon Boss. There is no guarantee that he would choose to act in a similar manner."

Silence. At that statement, tension was palpable in the air.

"And on top of that, we still have to find our future selves." I said pleasantly into the heavy stillness that had befallen us, "Shouichi, has there been any progress on locating our future selves yet?"

"N-not yet."

… Well, damn.

"It can't be helped," Hayato grumbled, roughly running a hand through his hair in a gesture born of a mixture of frustration and helplessness towards the general situation at large. "Guess we'll have to deal with this Shimon Famiglia first before working on finding our future selves. Can't exactly do the searching in peace if we're being attacked, can we?"

(There is nothing we can do about the fiasco with our future selves right now. However, this Shimon situation is something we _can_ take measures to act against. Might as well do something useful.)

"This is extremely unextreme!"

"We'll have to think of a way to counter the Shimon's advances, then," I sighed, standing up from the table. "Anything else we've found out about them so far?"

"For a relatively unknown famiglia, wouldn't you say it's strange that they've managed to amass so many forces to them so quickly?" Reborn commented idly. "Yes, there's something else you need to know about the Shimon. I don't know how they've managed to do it, but… I've heard word that the Shimon Famiglia is backed by the Assassins' Guild."

I tripped over my chair.

_"What?!"_

… The Shimon Famiglia is backed by the Assassins' Guild.

That… it wasn't… _how_…

(The Guild. It was widely known for being a _neutral_ organization; it's absolute neutrality was a main part of the reason why it even existed in the first place. The Guild, backing this Shimon Famiglia?)

_I don't even-_

"The entire guild?" I heard myself asking faintly, and Reborn _nodded_ in response, and…

I collapsed back into my seat again.

"… We're so screwed."

If it was just a group, just a division, just a section… maybe. But the entire guild? The entire guild that spanned internationally and whose number of assassins even I didn't know the exact figures of?

It wasn't _impossible,_ but… things weren't looking too good for us.

(Damn.)

* * *

_In retrospect, he felt guilty for even thinking about it. But the moment Reborn had announced to the room that the Assassins' Guild had thrown its support behind the Shimon, Gokudera's eyes had snapped onto Tsubaki, observing her reaction._

_Because she was an assassin._

_She was an assassin of the Assassins' Guild._

_The very same guild they would soon find themselves fighting against._

_And_… _nothing in her reactions had even remotely suggested at turning on them, and remembering the trials they faced while fighting Byakuran, the way she risked herself for them_… _he felt guilty for suspecting her at all, even if there was slight reason to. _

_She didn't seem to notice at all._

_"We're so screwed," she declared, flopping back down into her seat gracelessly. "So, so screwed."_

_"Not quite," Reborn's voice in response to her assessment was dry. "If you'll recall, this world has just been through a war. The Assassins' Guild has been working nonstop during this entire time, and_… _well, people die in wars. Many large, prominent famiglias have sustained heavy losses, and while the Assassins' Guild isn't exactly a famiglia, its current state can be considered a casualty of the war as well."_

_"_… _Huh." Tsubaki blinked. "So_… _not so screwed, then. That's good."_

_"Of course, given that the Guild is prone to hiding itself in secrecy_…_" Reborn trailed off with a small shrug._

_"_…_ So not much different, then."_

…

_"Shimon, Assassins' Guild," Gokudera folded his arms across his chest. "Are there any other factions we should be aware of?"_

_"Millefiore."_

_Shouichi blinked, startled at all the attention that was suddenly focused on him._

_"U-um, Millefiore. A large portion disbanded, many are dead, but_… _there's also a significant number of Millefiore soldiers that are under new management now, you could say. The Shimon_… _well, they seem to be very good at seizing openings and taking advantage of things.__"_

…

_Well. Wasn't this lovely._

* * *

…

"It's official. You're a trouble magnet, Tsuna."

"B-but I didn't-"

"Watch your words! It's not Juudaime's fault that-"

"Haha, I think we'd better run before they find us."

"Yamamoto-"

"I-"

"Incoming!"

We hit the ground as gunfire echoed throughout the air.

What started out as a cautious scouting attempt into a nearby town had went sharply downhill in a steep nosedive when we encountered another Shimon-allied group of mercenaries. Difference was, the group was much larger this time. And also, since we were in town instead of the nearby forestry, there were civilians to consider as well. No excessive damage to our surroundings (or at least, damages should be kept to a minimum), which meant that we were rather restricted in our means of retaliation against these men. Especially considering how we were trying to avoid drawing attention to ourselves; preferably, if we had to fight, it would be quick and fast instead of long and flashy.

"You alright, Tsubaki?"

"I'm fine. My back has been getting better; it's just my flames that are a bit slow in recovering this time. No worries."

We collectively dove to the ground again.

(Honestly, this entire fight would be a lot easier if we didn't have to worry about the civilians running around-)

_"Tsuna!"_

It's official. Trouble magnet. Tsuna had seen someone in trouble, someone who had tripped over a piece of rubble and was directly in path of one of our attackers, and… well. Our Sky had apparently decided that the distance wasn't too far, and-

"JUUDAIME!"

…

"You're so lucky Tsuna doesn't want to kill anyone." I muttered under my breath as I dashed over; the man ducked under the first swing of Takeshi's blade, but directly into the path of mine as I slammed it against his head, hard, sheath and all. "So, so lucky."

The person that Tsuna had helped seemed rather dazed, but not ungrateful, which helped to even my temper slightly. His messy red hair was a shade darker than Shouichi's, and for an inane moment, something in my mind likened the color to blood.

"Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah," the young man stuttered, smiling hesitantly. "Thanks for helping me. My name is Enma."

.

* * *

_**Bonus.**_

* * *

_Extra: "Come with me"_

* * *

It feels a bit like surfacing from the deep waters, almost. Except, surfacing only to discover that it's been air instead of water that he has always been rejecting, and he had drowned a long time ago.

"Good morning, brother."

It takes a moment for his eyes to focus again.

Violet eyes. White hair. Teasing smile.

His Sky.

"What…" his throat fails him here, his words breaking off into a series of coughs, but the young teen before him waits patiently. He can literally feel his heart hammering away in his chest, and it's _wrong,_ because if he remembers correctly (which he _does; _there's no way he can forget a full-out slaughter, _massacre _like that), he doesn't have a heart anymore.

In fact, he's not even supposed to be breathing anymore.

(Isn't he supposed to be dead? Aren't they _all_ supposed to be dead?)

"What happened?"

And the memories come, hitting him with all the force of a tidal wave, and he stumbles, and-

"Relax," the voice of his Sky sounds by his ear, and something twisted inside him automatically loosens. Calms. "Deep breaths. It's alright, not everything is lost."

"Not everything is lost?" The momentary calm is gone; without even a trace of his normal grace, normal poise, a note of hysteria is present in his mind. _"Not everything is lost?! _I… I don't… how can you even say something like that? We… oh gods, we failed. We _failed,_ and now everyone is _dead_ and we're-"

"Not everyone."

"… Not everyone?"

His Sky smiles again.

"I have a plan," the white-haired teen says candidly. "I have a plan to change our current situation. Will you come with me?"

He laughs shakily. "Do you even need to ask?"

"… Perhaps."

He is his Sky. Of course he will follow. And… there is a plan, a _plan,_ to restore things to the state they had once been in, before the disaster. Before Radueriel came.

…

(His Sky then tells him to call him Byakuran in this world.

And in this world, he himself becomes Valerian.)

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Nine hours. My flight was late by NINE HOURS. (Cries) I know there are way worse cases out there in regards to late flights, but still… nine hours spent in an airport isn't exactly fun. And then I spent a week curled up in a bed because of food poisoning three days after the plane landed. I don't think I'll be going on vacation again anytime soon. :'D

Currently, I've still got roughly two weeks to go before coming back to the states. It's going to be a long two weeks, haha… ha…

(Trails off awkwardly.)

I have no access to my drafts for my Psycho-Pass fic or the Naruto one right now, so expect a bit of a wait before those are posted. On the other hand, who would be interested in an One Piece OC fic as well? :D (I'm so easily distracted by plot bunnies, haha.) Got a fic request from a friend for **One Piece**, and when I told her I've never read it before, I got it quite literally shoved in my face. I'll probably write one sooner or later; right now I'm still middling through the manga. It's quite long, isn't it?

Also interested in writing a **Tokyo Ghoul** OC fic, but that probably won't be for awhile yet.

Enma! Lots of people mentioned wanting to see Enma, so he enters a little earlier than originally planned here, but that's okay. The Shimon Guardians will be coming in later as well, and we'll be seeing more of Enma in the next chapter. Out of the Shimon Guardians, who would you be most interested in seeing here in the story? :)

The lucky ten extra was included in this chapter again, since internet connection is still pretty erratic for me. Next chapter should be back to normal again, I think? … Actually, don't mind me; I guess this proves that I'm terrible at predicting stuff. First the chapter in which the final battle of the future arc would be, and now this. And my update schedule, too.

orz

First of the new OCs should be appearing in the next chapter, I think? xD Anyone looking forward to that?

Extra included in this chapter again, since I probably won't be able to get around to sending PMs. Again. Extra centered on V right after he recovers his memories of his life in his original world after meeting Byakuran for the first time in the KHR one. :)

* * *

**QUESTION(1):** **Please remember to submit an OC!** OC submissions are still open right now. :3 Refer to the **bolded section in the AN at the bottom of the last chapter** for the format of submitting OCs. **OC submissions will be open for five updates total,** so this chapter counts as the second of the five updates.

**QUESTION(2): **Any guesses on what happened to the missing future selves of Tsuna &amp; co.?

* * *

**.**

**Lucky ten extra was included in this chapter again. Please leave a review anyways~**

**.**

* * *

Till next time,

XxZuiliu


	32. 03: 3 Open Net, Ensnaring

(Enma. Enma. _Enma._ Now where… have I heard that name before? It sounded… oddly familiar, almost. But… now was no time to dwell on such a trivial thing, not while we were still under attack. Later. Maybe Shouichi knew something about it.)

"Tsuna, I swear you're going to give me a heart attack one of these days." I sighed explosively, finally reaching where Tsuna had tackled down the redhead moments ago. Something in the young man's demeanor tensed as I approached them, but I suppose any normal person would tense up if they happened to be approached by a strange girl in blood-splattered clothes. This response from him wasn't anything overly suspicious, nothing to really overreact about, but it _was_ something to take note of, by force of habit if nothing else.

Even if he looked to be a harmless civilian, there was still a thread of caution inside me that I refused to loosen.

I eyed the redhead carefully for a moment, before a set of footsteps sounded behind me and I shifted my attention away, elsewhere.

"We need to move," Hayato stated bluntly as he appeared behind me, scowling as he scanned our surroundings. Something in me nodded in approval at his actions. "It's like they were expecting to find us here in this town. Is the base still bugged?"

"Shouldn't be, but we should probably clear it out again when we get back, just in case." I shrugged lightly. Because he was right; we had been attacked not even ten minutes after setting foot into this town. Unless they had known of our plans beforehand and set up an ambush here for us… "There's not much we can do about that out here right now. Where is Takeshi?"

Hayato clucked his tongue irritably.

"Somewhere over–"

"Whew, that was a close miss just now, wasn't it?"

"… Never mind."

Suddenly, the redheaded man to the side let out a small yelp as he tripped while standing up, automatically reaching out for anything to stabilize himself with –which, unfortunately, happened to be Tsuna, who let out a similarly high-pitched yelp in being used as a handhold and only succeeded in being yanked down; the two fell in a tangle of limbs as Tsuna was pulled down by the sleeve, and I could only shake my head at the impromptu comedy scene.

Hayato, on the other hand, _seethed_ at what he interpreted as a case of intentional manhandling of his precious Juudaime.

"How dare you–"

"It's okay! I'm fine, Gokudera, really!"

"I'm sorry!"

Well, as amusing as it was, we really had more important things to be focusing on at the moment. Important things, such as paying attention to what was going on around us, seeing as we had only been under gunfire mere moments ago –case in point, those humanoid shadows moving behind the building over there–

… Wait.

Wait.

_Wait._

Now wait just a–

Bullets streaked through the air, and I bit down on the urge to swear. Now was _not the time,_ and clearly, clearly the alliance between the Shimon and the Guild was much stronger than I thought it would be. What else could explain the presence of _Guild assassins_ in a town as small as this one? The ones attacking us –they weren't simple mercenaries. Even though my eyesight wasn't the best, it was still sharp enough; I knew what I saw, and what I had seen just now, over there–

…

There were many in the Guild who were fond of using guns; I myself happened to be a fair hand at gunning down targets, even if I switched to bladework for the most part nowadays –but double guns, twin guns, tended to be rarer. And judging by the glimpse I had caught just now, that familiar silhouette swiftly disappearing around the corner; swiftly, but not quite fast enough, late by only a moment… most likely, it was Satano hiding out there, taking this brief lull to re-load his guns before firing upon us again.

Brilliant.

Satano was _good_ with those guns of his, and he probably wasn't the only Guild member out there, either.

This was… this was going to be a lot more troublesome than I expected it to be.

How did a simple scouting mission turn into full-out combat with Guild assassins, anyways? I mean, yes, it was possible for intel to be messed up sometimes, but to _this extent_, it was…

Well.

Either I _really_ needed to have another talk with Shouichi soon, or Hayato really was right and the Vongola base was still somehow being bugged by the Shimon after we had gone around clearing out the base earlier. It was a chilling thought; our actions and countermeasures being so easily observed and defended against, thwarted, because we were always being _watched_.

Shimon. It was a name that I was steadily learning to dislike more and more. It was also a name to be wary of; there was no place for complacency on the battlefield. It was not a luxury we could afford –it was not a luxury anyone could afford. Inattention was weakness, and weakness often led to death.

"Tsubaki?"

(Focus on the moment, the present, for now. Deal with the implications, the consequences, later.)

"There are two ways we can try to do this," I decided, glancing up at our small group. Tsuna, Hayato, Takeshi. "We can either split up here and make them chase us down separately, or we can stick together and just try to brute-force our way through the barricade they've set up here. I recognize this –we're being locked in; the guys out there aren't in a hurry to rush out and engage us full on because they want to _keep us here._ I don't know what it's for, but I'm familiar with this tactic… circling the target group and trapping them with gunfire. We should leave –_soon,_ before whatever they're waiting for arrives_._ How should we do this, Tsuna?"

"E-eh?" For a moment, Tsuna floundered slightly, clearly uncomfortable with the attention that was suddenly placed on him, but then something inside him calmed as a hint of fire flickered through his eyes.

I hid a small smile.

"… I think," he said slowly. "I think… it would probably be easier to get out if we separate. That way they can't just focus all the firepower in one direction, and their power as a group would be weakened as well."

Simple enough reasoning, but it worked.

"We'll rendezvous outside of town, then?" Hayato stuffed his hands into his pockets, kicking lightly at the dirt as he rolled his neck, loosening his body in preparation for a heck of a lot more running, and, more than likely –battle. There was no way they wouldn't split up as well once we did, in order to hunt us down. "Fine by me. What are we going to do with _him,_ though?"

The redheaded man who suddenly became the center of our attention again squeaked nervously at the thumb that the Storm jabbed towards him with the latter comment, skittering back immediately and almost tripping over his feet. Again.

(I guess even subconsciously, Hayato tends to be more terrifying to outsiders than we give him enough credit for.)

"Run and hide," I advised generously. "Just run when we do, and try to find a good hiding spot if you want to live."

"Tsubaki!"

"… Kidding, kidding." My arms folded themselves across my chest. "In all honesty, though, they probably already think you're with us by now –it'll be better for you to just run as fast as you can and hope for the best."

Tsuna face-palmed.

"You'll be fine," he reassured the increasingly pale-faced man beside him, who was experiencing a small case of weak knees at the moment, wavering and swaying where he stood. "It's not as bad as she's making it sound."

I didn't say anything to contradict the Sky and wisely kept my mouth shut this time. Takeshi just laughed.

* * *

"_Ooh, guess I'm lucky, huh?"_

"_Haha. Is someone out there?"_

_Yamamoto Takeshi wasn't particularly expecting any sort of response to that, really, but lo and behold, a blonde woman stepped out from the shadows of the streets and smiled slowly at him. After splitting up after specifying the location they would meet up at, they had scattered in different directions –he himself had headed east, and… even though they were expecting to be confronted, this was still a lot sooner than he thought it would be._

_No matter how fast their enemies happened to be, though, he wasn't planning to lose._

"_I bet I'm the first one to reach my target," the young woman grinned brightly, her cold words completely at odds with the cheerful expression across her face. "It's nothing personal, boy, but the big boss who writes my paycheck handed me this mission. I need you dead if I want to collect on the money; it's pretty good this time. I'm in a good mood, so I'll even do you a favor and make this quick as long as you stand still, mm'kay, darling?"_

_He blinked, and then there were knives ghosting over his skin. _

_It's only a second later that he belatedly realized that his body had reacted before his mind, again –the woman was _fast,_ and it was only by bending over backwards in a decidedly uncomfortable position that he managed to duck another slash aimed at the upper half of his torso._

"_Hm. Not bad, boy. You do realize that you're just making things harder on yourself, no?"_

_She lunged forward again, and this time his eyes had adjusted enough to her speed to make our the sharp dagger gleaming in each hand. _

_Yamamoto unsheathed his sword._

"_My name is Klara," the blonde smiled beautifully. "I'm here to kill you, Yamamoto Takeshi. So do the Shimon a favor and die soon, won't you? I can promise you that dying by my hands will be much less painful that what's in store for you if you persist in fighting me. I'm a professional among professionals, after all."_

"_Nah. I think I'll take my chances."_

_His words are carefree, yet his actions are anything but._

…

_(Stay safe, everyone. We'll be out of here soon. And… we're all going back to the past, remember? So no matter how dangerous our enemies are, we will not fail. Not like this. _

_We will go home together, laughing and smiling.)_

* * *

This one, I don't recognize.

It's no big surprise, all things considered. After all, the Guild is a fairly large organization, and no one really knows anyone else, outside of who they tend work with now and then from time to time. That aside, ten years. _Ten years._ A lot can change in ten years, and ten years is a long time for the Guild to be accepting new members and changing the rosters.

So, it's really not much of a surprise that I find myself being ambushed from above by an assassin who I don't recognize –it was only the earlier glimpse of Satano that I had managed to catch that clued me in to the Guild's presence in this entire situation at large. There are not actually any physical signs to recognize a Guild assassin on sight; there are no tattoos, no certain uniforms, nothing to suggest Guild affiliation. It's part of what makes the Guild itself a successful organization, really, this sort of loose lack of identity that held all its assassins together.

For a moment, though, I puzzled at the strange eye color of the knife-wielding girl doing her best to dig several large holes through me in several vital areas. _Orange eyes_ weren't exactly common, so I figured I could be excused for that. And really, could something like bright orange eyes even be possible naturally?

… More than likely, these were only orange contacts that she was wearing in her eyes… but _why_ would any sensible assassin choose such a bright shade of contacts to put in their eyes? Such a loud, obnoxious color?

Unless they were trying to confuse their opponents, maybe?

Well… if that was her aim in choosing such an unusual eye-catching color, then the young woman's contacts definitely worked in this case. Not that it made much of a difference, yes, but it was still bizarre enough that my mind attempted to puzzle out the whole _orange eyes_ thing until the knife nearly stabbed me in my shoulder clean through.

I ditched the puzzlement over orange eyes and became a lot more focused after that.

"Just so you know, I'm not going to let you kill me, if you happen to be wondering about it," I said dryly, parrying another blow before darting in, swinging my own sword upwards, and the young woman 'tsk-ed' lightly before flipping back to put some distance between us. "I'm rather fond of living, and I'd like to keep it that way, if you please."

No response.

… A stickler for remaining professional and uptight on the job, then? But, in that case –why _orange eyes?_

She stabbed downwards, and I quickly moved my leg out of the way. The metal blade sank into the wood of the nearby table I had been standing next to, and I readied my sword again to meet her next attack.

Great.

Not that I particularly _enjoyed_ being talkative during a battle, but in this case, it would help me fish for information. Information which we were sorely lacking right now. There was no point in dancing around in a battle like this for so long if there was nothing that I stood to gain from it.

… Better to meet up sooner with Tsuna and the others, then. I had no doubt that the assassins in town split up the moment they saw us part in different directions, each heading out to cut off a different target before we escaped their net. I was not in any hurry to bring out my box weapon; on the off-chance that they happened to be a scouting party like we were meant to be as well, I didn't exactly need to feed the Shimon Famiglia more information on my fighting style. Any more information than they already had on me, at least.

And that was another thing to address –even if they happened to have the aid of a particularly powerful Mist on their side, just _how_ was the Shimon able to keep such tight tabs on our movements? It didn't make sense; Shouichi, Spanner, and Giannini had worked together to clear out any bugs present in the Vongola base, but had they missed something in their search? Or maybe, if the Shimon had a Mist capable of bypassing our defenses the first time, surely they could do so a second time as well…?

But then… if they were able to tear down our defenses so easily, why hadn't we been attacked in our sleep yet? Were we only being lulled into a false sense of security by them, maybe? For what means, then; to what ends?

…

I wasn't quite sure what to make of this.

Because right now, all we were doing in essence was only going along with everything that was happening around us, seeing what would occur, _reacting,_ and… never taking initiative. Even though it was obvious that we didn't _know_ enough of the Shimon yet to start taking initiative in this new conflict against them, it was still nonetheless frustrating that we weren't able to do anything about it just yet. More importantly, with the advantage that the Shimon currently held –_just what were they planning to do?_

The Guild, too.

What did the Guild hope to achieve by throwing its weight behind the Shimon, openly and publically? Even when Byakuran had been on the verge of taking over the world, the Guild hadn't allied with the Millefiore and still remained a separate, mostly-neutral entity, so for the Guild to choose to ally itself with the Shimon now… what did the Guild mean to gain from this?

And since the Guild had allied itself with Shimon –that meant I was a traitor to the Guild, for my current association with Vongola. Vongola, whom Shimon had declared its enemy. Even if I hadn't accompanied Tsuna and the others on this little 'outing' to this town, I would be hunted down sooner or later.

_Death to traitors._

…

What a fine predicament to be in.

(I stepped back, shifting my body to the side, dodging another upward slash from the long knife in the orange-eyed woman's hands.)

* * *

"_Well, isn't this a nice little predicament."_

_Shouichi glanced up from the computer in front of him. "Something wrong, Spanner?"_

_The blond didn't look away from his screen, but his fingers were a blur over the keyboard. "The young Vongola and his friends ran into some trouble in town. We're looking at a small squad from the Assassins' Guild engaged in combat with them at the moment."_

… _Yes, 'predicament' sounded like a good word for that situation._

"_Doesn't look to be too bad, though. They'll be fine."_

"_That's not exactly what's worrying about it, though."_

_Spanner's eyes slanted up to glance at him._

"… _Yeah. It's not."_

_What was worrying about this situation was that it was the Assassins' Guild that they were openly fighting against, and that the assassins knew to go to town at this time to find them. What was worrying was that the enemy knew their movements, which meant there was still some sort of information leak. What was worrying was that Shouichi _knew_ that he, Spanner, and Giannini had spent a good portion of their time de-bugging the base once they realized they were being watched, but from this, it was evident that, regardless of their efforts –they were _still_ being watched, which… wasn't good._

_He let out a small noise of frustration in his throat, collapsing in the back of his chair._

_For all that the Vongola had come out the victor in the final battle with the Millefiore, the current situation wasn't looking good; not by a long shot._

"_Where's Giannini?"_

"_Maintenance in the other room. Do you need me to call him here?"_

"_No… no, it's okay."_

_They would have to hold another meeting after Tsuna and the others came back; there wasn't anything they themselves could do about things on their own at the moment, unfortunately–_

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"… _Shouichi?"_

_Spanner sounded confused –that was fine; he himself would be confused, too, if Spanner had been the one who suddenly leaped up like a demon possessed at the sound of a few beeps and all but plastered himself to the computers–_

_No, he didn't suddenly just have a spontaneous fit of insanity, thank you very much. _

_And no, he wasn't imagining things, it was clear that the readings–_

"_Find Reborn," Shouichi was barely aware of Spanner coming up behind him to look at what had evoked such a reaction from him; he _was_ aware, however, of the small gasp that the other man let out, the hand that tightened on his shoulder. "We'll have to tell them about this when they get back, too, but find Reborn first –we finally have a signal!"_

_A signal._

_A lead._

_Finally, something._

_It wasn't much, just a momentary pinprick of light on the radar, but it was there. It was _there._ There was no denying it. After all the troubles they had lately, this success was something they could take joy in, find hope in._

_After all, now they finally had a clue as to where the missing future selves of the Tenth Vongola Generation had gone._

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Finally starting to move on with the plot. Future selves are found! … Kind of. xD

The chapter feels a little short this time, but, well. More stuff will (should) be happening in the next update. ;)

Some OCs from the OC submission are starting to enter the story here. There will probably be a few more featured in the next chapter and throughout the rest of the arc, too. We've also planned another arc in the (not so far but still kinda far right now) future where OCs from the Assassins' Guild will come into play again, so even if an OC doesn't show up in the Shimon arc here, there's still a chance for them to show up later.

On a bright note, I'll be coming back to the states this weekend. _Finally._ This is probably one of the more tiring vacations I've been on… well, hopefully there will be no nine-hour-wait in the airport again. I swear, the first thing I do when I'm getting home is to sleep like a log. orz

Enma pops in briefly here, but Tsuna and the others don't really take note of him. Yet. xD His brief appearance here isn't just because a lot of people mentioned wanting to see him; I mean, that may have played a small role in the decision to introduce Enma earlier than planned, but there's a reason why he pops up for a moment in front of the tenth gen here, and it's not just for comic relief. I think that's all I'll say on this for the moment…

We're almost at the halfway point for _Onwards Till Dawn,_ guys. It's kind of silly, but I'm rather excited about that. xD Mostly because I haven't ever worked on anything so long before and in the beginning I was all like, 'Yeah, let's try this but there's probably no way we'll actually finish' and now we're almost halfway through. I would've thought that we would give up somewhere in the Future arc, honestly… I guess there's hope that _Onwards Till Dawn _will be finished one day. :'D

* * *

_Story Stats:_

_Canopus_ has been (finally) **updated**, for anyone who might have been keeping an eye out for it. _Sirius _is roughly 50% complete at this point, so it might take awhile longer for _Sirius_ to be posted. It's a work in progress. xD I know I posted a preview of _Sirius_ before on my profile a long time ago, but I won't be putting up the preview again. Everything will be part of the story itself when I finally post it. :)

I'm still in the process of reading the manga, but that **One Piece OC fic** I mentioned during the last update? It has been **recently posted**. :D Please check out _pluck down the stars from heaven_ if you're interested. :3

I know I mentioned updating _Like Pinwheels in the Wind_ several times already and haven't gotten around to it yet, but I promise that I'm not planning to just leave it unfinished. There's a small draft/preview of a section I was working on a long time ago for _Like Pinwheels in the Wind_ on my **Tumblr**, but as things currently are, it's a scene that probably won't make its way into the official last chapter. Feel free to take a look there if you will.

* * *

**QUESTION(1): Please remember to submit an OC! **Refer to the AN in chapter 30 for the OC submission form.

**QUESTION(2): **Any guesses for where Shouichi found the tenth gen's future selves to be located? ;D

* * *

**.**

**Ten lucky reviewers will be chosen at random to receive a short extra~**

**.**

* * *

Till next time

XxZuiliu


	33. 03: 4 Bait, Reel it in

"_Did you see them?"_

"… _Yeah."_

"_What do you think?"_

"…"

"_C'mon, Enma, spill. What do you think about the Vongola brats?"_

"…"

"… _Haha, I see. Hey, I even told you about it before, didn't I?"_

_(They're weak.)_

* * *

An island.

An island which… happened to belong on Shimon territory. I don't think any of us were quite surprised by that little fact, considering all the trouble centered around the Shimon Famiglia these days in the aftermath of the war with the Millefiore…

On an island, it would be easy to keep an eye out for any who tried to approach by sea or air. If it was as secluded as its position suggested, then it was probably also fairly easy for the Shimon to monitor the people living on it, if there happened to be any aside from those affiliated with them. I could certainly see the reasons behind them choosing an island to hide our future selves' bodies on… but what I still didn't understand was _why._

Yes; the Shimon had shown hostility towards Vongola, their actions showed that they wanted to replace Vongola as top dog of the mafia underworld –but if they truly wanted to do so, they could simply gather their forces and swarm us, attack us directly. Sneaking into our base to steal away our future selves, transporting them to an island, _letting_ us discover the location…

It was a trap.

An obvious trap, but one we couldn't ignore; not with what was held at stake here.

(… Damn.)

What with the length of the timespan between the disappearance of our future selves and this discovery –it was easily enough time for them to be spirited away to this small island, easily enough time for the island to be booby-trapped thrice over. They had hidden it for all this time, and now… now they were ready. They were ready, prepared for us, and so they allowed us to find this location–

It wasn't so much a lure as it was a clear message, a challenge.

… A challenge that we had no choice but to take if we wanted to return to the past. _Our_ past.

_This is crazy._

I leaned back from the long table of the meeting room, letting out a long sigh. "… So, anyone have any bright ideas of how to go about this…? _Other_ than charging in head-first, I mean–"

The quick amendment to my question came too late.

"Taking challenges head-on is extreme!" Ryohei shouted out energetically. The Sun grinned brightly, holding his hand up in a fist, "We can extremely do this!"

"There are, er… other extreme ways to break into a heavily-guarded enemy stronghold to reach out objective aside from charging through the front gates." I pointed out cautiously. "Right?"

"We should go by air. Boats will be too hard to maneuver in the waters if we get targeted." Reborn tapped sharply on the map spread out before us with the tip of his gun. "We'll approach from here."

"But that's not–"

"If they've been thorough with their preparations," Reborn stated plainly –which, the Shimon most likely had been _extremely_ thorough with whatever they had planned– "We won't be able to get in with such a large group unnoticed in a place like this. Do we have satellite images of that island?"

Shouichi nodded, "I'll pull them up right now."

Understanding the terrain where we would most likely be caught in more than our fair share of battles would be useful to victory. Hopefully…

I rubbed my shoulders absentmindedly at the dull ache along my back, waiting for Shouichi to present the satellite images on the screen covering the walls. My earlier fight with the orange-eyed woman (orange eyes; what self-respecting assassin would have _orange_ eyes–) had shown me that my body wasn't completely ready for battle yet. It was… strange. I usually recovered much faster than this –had Byakuran somehow done more damage than usual with those wings of his? It wasn't just something that applied to my physical body; my flames hadn't been recovering much, either…

Byakuran. Even in death, a total pain in the ass.

(That certainly sounded like him, alright.)

I flicked my eyes to the digital images appearing overhead. Most of the island seemed to be undeveloped –the natural forestry covered a good portion of the land itself, but there were markings of a town located to the side as well. I wasn't putting it past the Shimon to not have hidden bases set up there as well; with the additional cover provided by the natural landscape…

Well.

This wasn't the most dangerous venture into enemy territory that I had partaken in. We would have to be careful about it and watch our steps, but… we could do this. We were going to be fine.

(We _will_ be fine. There is no other outcome I will accept from this. Anything else…)

The strength of the Shimon Famiglia –not their new recruits, but the core members of the famiglia itself– was something unknown. Part of me doubted that anything here could surpass Byakuran in strength, but that didn't mean we could be overconfident going into this. Overconfidence and arrogance led to slip-ups, after all, and sometimes a single slip-up was all it took for a mistake to be fatal when it could've been otherwise avoided.

The Shimon Famiglia… just what was their goal here, really? All I could say for certain about them for now was that they held some sort of grudge towards Vongola, but as for what their _intent_ was behind this…

…

… I suppose we would receive answers upon accepting their challenge to go to this 'Shimon Island.'

"Something on your mind, Tsubaki?"

"… No. It's nothing."

* * *

_It was the small hiss of a human voice that caught her attention; in a hallway that should be nothing but silent as it usually was, the soft sound seemed ever so loud in the empty corridor. A quick glance to the right showed a door that was slightly ajar –that was the room where the sound had come from, wasn't it? Who was inside?_

_Chrome stepped over quietly, pausing as she reached the doorway. Whoever it was inside –they had probably chosen such a secluded spot in the base so they could be alone, right? Perhaps it would be better for her to just leave instead of intruding like this?_

_Another pained gasp came from the room; this time, she could pin down the voice to a person._

_Chrome knocked softly on the door._

"_Tsu… Tsubaki, are you…?"_

_(Alright? … But Chrome had seen the raven-haired girl at the meeting room earlier and she had seemed perfectly fine, if a bit tired from the unexpected fight that the scouting team had run into in town. Unless, maybe–)_

"_That you, Chrome?"_

_Calm, steady voice. No hint of shock or surprise. Tsubaki had always –select occurrences aside– been good at keeping her composure._

_Chrome wavered for a moment, before pushing forward and entering the room._

_(… Blood.)_

_Tsubaki smiled a smile-that-wasn't-really-a-smile, shaking her head. "Like I told Tsuna… it looks a lot worse than it actually is, Chrome."_

_There was a mirror in the far side of the room, and it was in front of that mirror that Tsubaki had situated herself. Bloodied bandages were cast away to the side, and she seemed to be in the process of cleaning out the wound on the back –one that wasn't bleeding quite so much anymore, but the mottled red-purple pattern splayed out across her back, centered below her shoulder blades… it looked painful. As if her body had tried to tear itself apart from inside out._

_The assassin herself had paused in the middle of where she had been using a long pair of tweezers with a cotton ball dipped in medical salve upon her sudden entry to the room. Chrome spared a moment to inwardly shake her head at the way the other girl had twisted her body to even be able to reach the wound –why hadn't she just asked someone else to help her change bandage wrappings and reapply medicine when it was obviously so difficult to do so by herself?_

… _Probably because she didn't want to make anyone worry. Which was… a rather worrying thought in and of itself, to be perfectly honest. If she wouldn't tell them if she was hurting, wouldn't it all amount to hurting even more in the end?_

_And… to worry about someone meant caring about them, didn't it? Tsubaki had been worried about her even starting from when they had all been in the past and fighting for the right to hold the Vongola Rings; wasn't it only natural that… wasn't it only natural that Chrome would worry about her, too? Her, and the rest of the Vongola family?_

_(Mukuro worried too, didn't he? Even if he had his own way of going about to show his worries…)_

"_Would you… would you like some help?" Chrome asked cautiously, as Tsubaki grimaced again when her hand slipped. It couldn't be easy to twist around like that to even reach the wound on her back –not to mention how the contortions would stretch the wound itself. How had she gone so far taking care of the injury by herself like this in the first place?_

"_It's alright, this is no–" Another small slip, another slight tremble of the hand. Chrome fidgeted uncomfortably at the sharp intake of pain from the assassin. For someone who had always portrayed an image of strength in front of everyone, seeing her vulnerable like this was…_

_Tsubaki sighed softly._

"_I think I'll take you up on that offer." There was a small unhappy twist around the edge of her lips, but Chrome knew the other girl well enough by this point to realize that it wasn't her that Tsubaki was upset with, but herself –upset at the injury, at what she perceived to be her own weakness. "… Sorry for the trouble."_

"_It's no trouble," Chrome shook her head._

_There was a brief pause of silence between them as she crossed the room to reach the other girl, picking up the medical salve that Tsubaki had set aside for her to use. A thin cloth steeped in some sort of herbal remedy was present on the low table as well –likely to cover the wound with before re-wrapping any bindings over the injury; cotton worked as well, but had a tendency to stick. Usually, that wouldn't be too much of a problem, but for a wound this large, this deep…_

_Chrome bit her lip._

_Tsubaki kept saying that it looked worse than it really was. No matter the truth of that statement, though, there was no denying that the wound ran deep –and she had been fighting like this earlier?_

_Had she been using Lightning flames to, what was it… 'numb her senses' to ignore the pain?_

"_Thanks, Chrome." Tsubaki pulled on a black shirt over her head once she finished wrapping the fresh set of new bindings around her upper back. _

_(Black. Black shirt. Easier to hide the bloodstains. Tsubaki's wardrobe consisted almost entirely of dark colors; was this the reason for that?)_

"_U-um…" Slight stutter. Chrome steadied her voice. "You should… see Sasagawa about this."_

_Sun flames could heal, couldn't they?_

"_I already did, back when we just finished… confronting Byakuran. Some injuries need to be repeatedly treated with flames, but that's usually for internal damage –external injuries like this one are generally left best to a single treatment, then heal naturally on its own. It's better for the body this way," Tsubaki smiled._

… _Maybe Tsubaki wanted to let her body heal at a natural pace. Although, Chrome couldn't help but feel that it was more because the assassin didn't want the Vongola Sun to 'waste' any of his Sun flames on what she considered to be an unimportant injury that would heal sooner or later by itself._

"_Anyways, were you looking for me earlier?" Tsubaki folded her arms across her chest. "No one usually wanders around here… is there something you need me for?"_

_Chrome shook her head._

"_No. I just…" Wanted to be alone for a bit, to be left with her thoughts peacefully for a moment or two. To look at this situation, to contemplate the task ahead of them, to consider what the Shimon Famiglia obstructing them–_

"_It's hard, isn't it?"_

_Chrome glanced up, startled. Tsubaki looked away._

"_Everything will be alright," the assassin said. "… Don't worry. Everything will be alright."_

_(The first statement sounds something akin to self-consolation, but the repetition of the phrase, four simple words, is a promise.)_

'_How do you know?' Chrome wanted to ask, except she didn't. The words stayed on her tongue for a moment, before crawling back down her throat, because–_

_Because they don't._

_They don't know how this will turn out. They don't know anything about the Shimon Famiglia other than the fact that they appear to hate the Vongola Famiglia and want them dead. Except, they've set a trap instead. A trap for them to walk into, and they have no other choice but to do so if they want to return to the past. If they want to return to the past where they belong, instead of this chaotic future they have found themselves in._

'_Everything will be alright.'_

… _When is anything ever alright? But… even if, for now, they happen to be caught in the midst of the chaos…_

"_Everything will be alright," the assassin smiled._

"… _Okay."_

* * *

Mindset was important. If you went into something thinking that you would fail, it was highly likely that you really would fail –even if you held the ability to succeed. This was different from overconfidence; overconfidence bordering on arrogance would likely lead to failure as well, but having no confidence at all was not desirable in the least.

"Tsuna, jumping out the door doesn't mean you're going to go 'splat'–"

"_We're in a helicopter!"_

"And we have parachutes and life-vests in the back. Can't you use your flames to fly, too? Anyways –look, I'm just saying that if we're discovered in the air like this, then it's entirely possible that we'll have to abandon ship and jump if they shoot us down."

"Wouldn't it be 'abandon helicopter' in this case?"

"… You're missing the point, Takeshi."

It was a rather crowded fit inside the helicopter here. Shouichi, Spanner, and Giannini had stayed behind to monitor the surveillance devices they managed to set up; Bianchi and Fuuta were both being run to the ground these days trying to keep up Vongola's usual operations by themselves, taking charge of the more 'public' actions that Vongola was expected to take in these times. Kyoko and Haru had been left behind on this operation as well.

As for Mukuro, he had disappeared a few days back, presumably to recover from the damage that his stay in Vendicare had accumulated over the years. Not to mention, throwing himself directly into battle against Byakuran the moment he had finally escaped. Chrome was still here, thankfully, so we still had a Mist on our side. We had discussed the high probability of a strong Mist on the Shimon's side; bringing one of our own would help level the playing field, so to speak.

"How much longer until we're there?"

"Half an hour, give or take." Hayato responded, fiddling with something in his pockets –the explosives that he was so fond of using, maybe? "We should be seeing land soon. If–"

The helicopter shook, violently. Startled shouts filled the air as we were tossed about; I twitched and bit back a pained grimace when someone elbowed me on the back. The movement seemed a bit too abrupt, a bit too sharp, to attribute to any natural movement of the wind, though…

"What the fuck."

Outside the window was nothing but reddish-brown… _something._ There was some sort of furry texture that _moved,_ and then suddenly came a dangerously creaking sound that from above as another heavy thud sounded against the metal of the helicopter. We were veering dangerously off-course by this… this red whatever-it-was that had hit us out of nowhere–

A scrabbling noise; claws against iron. Then a small pause, and–

_Purple flames._

The red fur –some sort of animal, _some sort of box animal trying to tear the helicopter to pieces_– was covered with a layer of blazing Cloud flames–

"Shouichi says to 'watch out,'" Reborn's voice sounded lazily from somewhere, wholly unconcerned. Bastard. "There's a helicopter coming up from behind us."

"Great, why couldn't he have warned us about this –this giant rabid squirrel dropping onto us out of nowhere?"

"It's not a squirrel, it's a red panda," the 'obviously' part was left out word-wise, but clearly still evident in Hayato's tone.

"How do you even _know?_"

"Encyclopedia."

… I threw my hands up in the air, "Because, _clearly,_ everyone reads the encyclopedia."

"Well, you're the one who–"

"Guys! You can argue later!" Tsuna yelped, "Right now, we need to get out of here before the helicopter–"

"–breaks, or something like that. Gotcha." I looked out the window, "… We're still over the water right now. That's–"

It broke.

The Cloud-enhanced not-squirrel just _broke_ the helicopter. As in, literally squeezed until it broke; someone screamed like a little girl, but I wasn't really paying attention to the line of conversation (shouting, more like) going on anymore.

I was more preoccupied with the helicopter that was almost upon us now. That, and the giant not-squirrel that looked like it was going to eat us if we kept flailing around so helplessly.

(I had a pretty good idea of just who was sitting in that helicopter –either someone from the Shimon, or someone from the Guild. Although it didn't seem like there was much of a difference between the two anymore at this point, not with the way the Guild so freely lent its resources to the Shimon…)

Hibari had already taken out the Cloud hedgehog box of his; Not-Squirrel seemed wary about just charging forward and squeezing this one to death like it had our helicopter. Tsuna's Sky flames were flaring from the side as he righted himself in the air, while Hayato looked to be on verge of bringing out that linked multi-flame box weapon system of his.

Under any other circumstances, I would've used my own box animal and brought Kuro into the fray, but… what with the slow recovery of my physical body and Lightning flames. Even the sparse amount I of Lightning flames that I had used while fighting the orange-eyed assassin in town hadn't recovered yet; never mind something as strenuous flame-wise as releasing a box animal. It would probably be best if I tried to conserve my strength and not overexert myself too soon, not when we hadn't even set foot on the Shimon Island yet, which was… slightly frustrating, since we were so _close_.

_It's probably because we're so close to the island that they're sending people after us now._

I pulled out my sword and stabbed it into the falling chunk of ruined helicopter above me. Gritting my teeth as I braced myself for the pain that would undoubtedly come, I twisted my body and _flipped,_ rotating so that I was above the rubble. It was easy enough to retrieve my sword and kick off from it; though I didn't manage to jump very far, at least I wasn't falling straight down anymore.

… My back was probably bleeding again.

I repeated the maneuver approximately five more times in increasingly strange angles before I was able to make my way to Hayato, who had constructed some sort of floating platform with his chain of box weapons.

"'Bout damn time," was all he said to me, a quicksilver flash of concern in his eyes before it was gone. I smiled. "Reborn identified these guys as Guild assassins; Juudaime and Hibari are holding them off for now. He told us to go in first –the island isn't far from here."

It made sense –most of the people Gokudera was carrying right now were those unsuited to fighting aerial battles, myself included. Hibari could use the propagation property of his Cloud flames to create temporary footholds, while Tsuna could literally use the propulsion force from his Sky flames to fly. Gokudera could probably fight as well, but he had been tasked with ferrying us away from here, before any of my fellow assassins could take the chance to target us as a weak point… which I had no doubt that they would do, if given the opportunity.

(If our situations were reversed, I would do the same.)

I let out a long huff, more than a little irked by the fact that I would be useless if I stayed.

"Hey, give that crazy squirrel hell from me when you get back to help Tsuna, alright?"

"It's a _red panda."_

"Whatever, Mr. Encyclopedia."

* * *

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…

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Author's Notes:

I had to google 'red panda' to find out what it was. At first I just looked at the name and was like, 'wait, red panda? Aren't pandas, y'know… black and white? Red and white pandas, really? I've got to see this.' And then I google image-d it and found out what red pandas really were. Well. They're pretty cute anyways. xD

(… I feel kind of bad for only letting the red panda make an appearance. It's the box animal of one of the submitted OCs… and yet the red panda appears before the OC. Sorry to whoever submitted the OC! … At least rest assured that your OC will be appearing in the story sometime? :D)

Hopefully Chrome wasn't too OOC in this chapter. orz It always feels a bit hard to pin down her character… she doesn't tend to speak much, either, which just makes it even more difficult in the end. So, hopefully it wasn't too bad here? :'D

I suppose that the answer to the second question in the last chapter was pretty obvious –yes, we're headed to the Shimon Island to confront Enma and the others. And the Assassins' Guild is still hot on their trail, trying to get to Tsuna and the others before they've even reached the island. Anyone want to take a guess at what happens next as they make their way to Shimon Island?

More members of the Shimon Famiglia should be showing up in the next chapter if all goes as planned (hopefully). Not sure if Enma will be making an appearance immediately in the next chapter, but he'll be coming up soon again, for those of you who like Enma. :3 And… no, Enma's earlier appearance in town wasn't just a random thing thrown in there for the sake of Enma being introduced a few chapters early.

Just as a reminder, updates will be slowing down since school is starting soon for me. I will do my best to continue writing even throughout the school year, but (unfortunately) some things will have to come before writing fanfiction. Zuiyun starts school later than me since we're going to different schools now, so maybe it'll be Zuiyun with the AN next time? xD … Or not, who knows. Hope everyone enjoyed their summer this year, now that it's winding to a close…

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**NOTE:** I've went and updated my **One Piece OC fic** yesterday. Please head over to check out chapter two of _pluck down the stars from heaven_ if you happen to be interested~

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**QUESTION(1): Remember to submit an OC!** Please refer to the AN in chapter 30 for the form. Next update will be the last chance to submit an OC, and then OC submissions will be closing after that.

**QUESTION(2): **The short conversation at the very beginning of this chapter –one of the speakers is Enma, but who do you suppose the other person might be? ;3

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**Ten lucky reviewers will receive an extra~**

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Till next time

XxZuiliu


	34. Camellia Notes II

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**Camellia Notes II**

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**Emergency AN:**

_Three of the **reviewer extras** are being posted here, because nothing has been updated in this story for over a month already, and I'm really sorry for that. I've got midterms coming up, though, so I honestly can't spare any time to finish the next chapter for _Onwards Till Dawn _this weekend, even though I already updated _pluck down the stars from heaven _earlier today. _

_And thus, a "repost" of some reviewer extras here as an apology. _

_(I actually have another extra for Iemitsu on my Tumblr posted a long, long time ago –has anyone ever even read that, actually?)_

_I really really want to say that I'll finish the next chapter for _Onwards Till Dawn _sometime this coming week after I finish the immediate midterms coming up, but since I can't guarantee anything for sure, I don't want to make any promises._

_Apologies again for the long delay, and hope you enjoy the extras if you haven't seen them before already. Thanks for understanding the difficulties of RL and I'll do my best to get the next update for _Onwards Till Dawn_ out sometime soon!_

_-XxZuiliu_

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1\. It's an Accident. Really.

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_Context: One of Tsubaki's earlier loops through parallel worlds, in Namimori with Tsuna &amp; co. One of the small exploits they had together in the city, told from Tsuna's POV._

_._

_._

_._

It starts with a banana peel.

More precisely, it starts with Tsuna slipping on a banana peel as they're walking home from school that day. He slips on a banana peel and, instead of landing headfirst on the ground as per usual, he lands on something else instead.

... Or rather, he lands on _someone._

"Boss!" the very much outraged and scandalized bald yakuza standing next to them yells, and Tsuna suddenly becomes acutely aware of the muscled man who has inadvertently become his landing pad when he slipped on the banana peel.

Which… isn't good.

"You okay, Tsuna?" To his left, Tsubaki smiles and holds out a hand to help him up, completely ignoring the yakuza men slowly gathering around them. Gokudera and Yamamoto don't look like they care much for being surrounded by a crowd of increasingly violent mobsters, either, and Tsuna spares himself a mental moment for self-pity.

(Why is it that when it comes to times like these, he is always the only sane person in this family?)

"What do you think you're doing, punk?" the 'Boss' growls as he clambers to his feet again, and Tsuna is suddenly very conscious of how the older man looms over him like a mountain, blocking out the sun entirely behind him. "I'm the Boss of Momokyokai, the strongest yakuza branch in all of Namimori! I'll make you regret ever stepping foot in this town!"

"Um," Tsuna says in response, because he is the very eloquent and very fearsome Boss of the strongest mafia famiglia in all of Italy.

Gokudera glares.

"How dare you address Juudaime like that!" the silver-haired teen bristles and hisses at the Momoykokai Boss like an offended cat, before practically _pouncing_ with explosives brandished high in each hand.

"W-Wait!" Tsuna tries to stop the fight before it can get any worse than it already has, "G-Gokudera, I'm sure he didn't mean–"

BOOM.

"Haha, looks pretty fun!"

"Wait, Yamamoto, please don't–"

BOOM.

BOOM.

BOOM.

"I get that you're trying to avoid getting involved in unnecessary fights, Tsuna," Tsubaki says kindly, patting him on the shoulder in a way that doesn't reassure him at all. "And while you were the one who slipped and fell, it doesn't excuse that… 'Momokyokai Boss'' attitude towards you. How are we going to make you into a feared mafia boss if we allow small-time yakuza to get away with that type of behavior unpunished?"

"But I don't even want to be a mafia boss!" Tsuna tries to tell her, even though it's too late and no one is listening to him anymore. He is on the verge of tearing his hair out as Tsubaki calmly pulls out a _gun_ and begins firing paintballs into the fray.

"What's this, Tsuna?" Reborn pops up behind him with a banana sundae in hand. In his other hand, Leon gives an impish smile, before transforming into a gun. "Tut, tut, I thought I taught you better than this. Sitting back and letting your subordinates do all the hard work for you?"

Tsuna can only stare blankly, because _of course_ Reborn is directly related to this chaotic situation at hand.

"Oh my god," he manages to get out, right before Reborn's eyes gleam and the pseudo-infant fires a Dying Will Bullet point-blank into his forehead.

(… And so, this is the tale of how the young Vongola Decimo to-be supplants the Momokyokai as the center of criminal power in Namimori in a single afternoon. Nono beams with pride when he hears of this, Reborn smirks, and Tsuna doesn't know whether to laugh or cry –though as of the moment, he's definitely leaning towards the latter reaction.)

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2\. Blind

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_Context: The aftermath of the final battle with Millefiore, a small introspection snippet from Byakuran's POV._

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(Byakuran dies smiling.

In the scant few moments before those brilliant Sky flames leaping from Sawada Tsunayoshi's fists bear down upon him, blazing brightly –Byakuran smiles.)

… Even now, when he casts his mind back –far, far back– he can still remember the very beginning, when this entire mess started. Of course, back then, he hadn't been particularly focused on collecting the Tri-ni-sette. Not purposely, not with full understanding of what it was. In fact, he recalls feeling more than a fair bit of confusion on his part when the whole mess and entanglement between parallel worlds first began.

Credit to Tsubaki, of course.

His relationship with Tsubaki nowadays is… complicated, to say the least. And that is putting it mildly.

If she is currently capable of ramming three feet of cold steel down his throat right now, he has no doubt that she would do so. Immediately. It wouldn't exactly be without reason, either –Byakuran freely admits that, in several of their earlier altercations with each other before traveling to this world, he may have… gone out of his way to make her suffer. Make her hurt.

… and no, it wasn't because he was a sadist.

(He's not, really, despite all appearances on the contrary. That's only on the surface, skin-deep, after all.)

It's not because she keeps fighting him, opposing him, always prioritizing and protecting the Vongola brats.

(At least, not in the beginning, though it may have clouded his logic later on.)

He doesn't hate her.

(Not entirely, even as she learns to hate him for all the wrong reasons.)

It's because she is a traitor.

Tsubaki. Traitor. And she isn't _supposed_ to be; not her. Not like this.

(But she is. And he's not talking about the juvenile little act she put on with Shouichi here.)

… He calls her Tsubaki. He says it's because of the Tsubaki flower falling at the pinnacle of full bloom, in a manner reminiscent of decapitated heads, and he says so to her face with a cheerful smile that has her taking his words at face value, because to her he is nothing but a heartless monster that wants to kill her friends, those that she has taken to calling her 'family.'

(It's a lie.)

And while V might excuse her actions because of her loss of memories regarding their past –Byakuran knows better. She has already chosen her side, and it is not with them, for all that even now she is still his–

… Well, supposed to be, at any rate. Though…

It doesn't really matter anymore now, does it?

(Byakuran smiles.

He smiles even though he knows that he is going to die now, even though he knows that, in the end, despite his efforts, the Tri-ni-sette still slips out of his grasp. Just as he is upon the brink of victory.

But it's… okay. It's okay. More than okay, even.

He has already won.)

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3\. Remember Thine Name

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_Context: Prior to the final battle with the Millefiore, a small introspection snippet from V's POV after his first encounter with young!Tsubaki in the future-verse._

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(One night a young little crimson-haired girl dies as the world burns down to ashes around her; the next morning she wakes up raven-haired and raven-eyed and she is no longer that innocent little girl anymore, but an entirely different person wearing a ghost of the same shell.

In an eerily similar occurrence taking place within an entirely different country at the same time, a green-haired boy cracks open a pair of golden eyes and cautiously sits up in the unfamiliar surroundings.

This is where 'V''s memories in this world begins.)

…

…

…

His name hadn't always been V, but it's what he goes by nowadays.

He finds comfort in it because this name provides a mask, a barrier; it allows for a distinct separation between the pale shadow that he is now and the formidable entity that he had once been. It keeps him sane, this use of an alias. It draws him back from the border of madness that he finds himself drifting closer and closer to with each passing day.

But more importantly, it keeps him safe. Because abstaining from using his actual name will, in turn, give _him_ the impression that he still does not remember, and that everything is still going according to _his_ plan.

It's an advantage he intends to keep for as long as possible.

… In all honesty, it's rather shameful that he hadn't even remembered what his name originally had been until the moment he finally recovered some semblance of his former- no, his _true_ self. Now, even thinking back on those early days in this world, when he had known nothing save for the fake mission engraved in his mind, insidiously given to cultivate in him a sense of purpose in this place where he does not belong…

Fucking Mist flames.

Meeting 'Tsubaki' in the Assassins' Guild had been a pleasant surprise. He hadn't… really expected to run into another one so soon, not after encountering his Sky and having his distorted mind set straight again. There were only seven of them present in this world, after all; what were the chances of running into another brother –or in this case, sister– so soon?

It was only natural that he kept an eye out for her.

(Although, to tell the truth… despite the fact that it was hard to identify who was sleeping behind which corpse-mask, 'Tsubaki'… he had his suspicions as to whom she actually was.)

V.

V for Valerian.

He had almost been amused at the name 'Byakuran' had chosen for him after doing a little bit of research himself. Red valerian flowers typically represented an accommodating disposition, which matched with the calming nature of his flame affinity. But blue valerian, blue petals for the literal color of the Rain that danced upon his fingertips –it simply meant _rupture_.

Rupture, fracture, broken.

… He wonders if 'Tsubaki' knows why the Sky had chosen for her the name he did. Because, even though the man had claimed himself that it was since the flower was one that fell at the height of its splendor –suffice to say, he holds his own doubts about it.

The names that they use in this world are only masks thrown over masks over masks; lies upon lies revealing only a sliver of the truth embedded within.

He suspects that there is a very good reason why she has been named 'Tsubaki' rather than 'Ume' or 'Botan,' if the woman hiding beneath the mask of the girl is who he thinks she is.


	35. 03: 5 Springing the Trap

"_They're here."_

_Enma didn't shift away from where he was standing by the window, but his hands clenched ever so slightly upon hearing the two innocuous words –fingers briefly curling into fists, before relaxing again just as quickly._

_(Not that the movement went unnoticed by his companion in the room, who smiled.)_

"_Ah. So they are," he responded tonelessly, neutrally. A small sound of assent, and that was enough._

_That was enough._

_This… this was both the beginning and the end, and Enma couldn't help but feel something in his chest curl tightly at the thought, a sensation that was a mix between a sort of nauseous unease and unbridled anticipation. The kind of anticipation born from years upon years' worth of planning, of blood and tears, where everything would come to a head in full at long last, now that they were approaching the end of the line._

_This, this was what they had worked towards for so long._

_There would be no other outcome to this tale; finally, finally everything would come to a close._

_Blood for blood._

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* * *

"You're bleeding."

I paused. Takeshi's errant comment –actually, it came across as something more akin to a matter-of-fact statement edged with disapproval rather than offhand comment; regardless– struck me as a bit of a non-sequitur at the moment. "It's not that bad. I'm fine, really."

_I'm fine._ Two simple little words that I had grown to become all-too familiar with by this point. Words that I had no doubt I'd continue to revisit and revisit many, many more times in the future to come.

_I'm fine, always, so you don't have to worry about me. Don't worry about me, I'm fine._

The faint frown on Takeshi's face didn't lighten, despite my assurances. "It… was really bad, wasn't it? When you–"

"_Heads up!"_

Heads _down_ probably would've been the more accurate phrase to use in this situation; the ground beneath our feet literally _exploded,_ tearing upwards. We tumbled forward head-over-heels in a jumbled mess together, propelled onward by the instinctive human reaction to seek safety, to flee danger. I took only the barest of moments to scoop Lambo up in my arms before Takeshi's hand clamped down tightly on my arm, dragging me out of the destructive zone with him as we took off in a dead sprint.

"Chrome, Ryohei?" I managed to ask.

"To the right!"

We didn't manage to make any more conversation after that, instead simply focusing on hastening our steps to get out of the blast radius, _fast._

(… So much for dropping us off in a 'safe, non-combat area,' Hayato.)

The chain of explosions chasing our heels eventually trailed off, slowly tapering into nothingness again. By then, it was evident what the intention behind this maneuver had been –to separate us from each other, to drive us apart. Chrome and Ryohei were no longer in sight anymore. Takeshi, Lambo, and I were together only because Takeshi had seized my arm and I had grabbed Lambo before running.

Behind us trailed a scene of the basest of pure destruction: Smoking, charred ruins sparked with hints of flickering red-hot embers, licking at the gray ash saturating the air in a thick, ragged cloud.

It was… very, very familiar.

I frowned.

(Déjà vu, almost, except not quite–)

"Rauji must be getting soft. Mountain flames... are capable of tearing asunder the highest mountains, rendering all to naught but dust. For even children to survive…"

The voice was high, feminine. But the cold scoff, the complete disregard in those words and the very words themselves…

My eyes narrowed, and the frown over my lips deepened at the proclamation.

_Rauji. Mountain flames. _

_Flames… there's no such thing as a "Mountain flame." All flames are born of the Sky, aren't they? Those explosions just now –she's attributing it to "Mountain flames?"_

… _Some experiment of the Shimon, perhaps?_

The woman who arrived behind us –her entire demeanor spoke of a rather classical sort of elegance, the kind that made her seem leagues upon leagues beyond reach of everyone else, high above upon the clouds and utterly untouchable by mere mortals. She didn't quite have the air of a _goddess,_ not exactly, but there was a sort of smooth grace ingrained within the core of her very being that automatically set her apart from others in a crowd.

But perhaps the most striking thing about this pale, dark-haired woman wasn't her elegance, her grace, nor her beauty, though all three were immediately enough to mark her as unique, special, powerful. What stood out me the most upon laying eyes on her was the _coldness_ that surrounded her as she glided forth, a coldness akin to an icy mantle draped regally across her shoulders.

It would not be too far of a stretch to admit that looking at her felt like looking at winter carved into the form of human flesh. And not the winter of soft snow falling quietly from the heavens above, no. This woman –she literally personified the heart and soul of the harsh, jagged ice that cut sharp and deep into the ground, freezing everything in its wake. Ruthless and merciless, yet breathtakingly beautiful at the same time.

She wasn't a goddess, didn't quite give off the aura of being holy and divine, but it wouldn't be at all inaccurate to compare someone like this to a queen.

A queen of ruin, of frost and rime.

"Vongola," the woman said, and the twist of the word upon her lips made it sound like the name was something distasteful, disgusting, vulgar to the bone and deeper still. Takeshi tensed ever so slightly next to me, and Lambo shivered –inwardly, I marveled at the chill spreading throughout my limbs at her influence, at her very presence in front of us. "I, Suzuki Adelheid, will cut you down where you stand. For the glory of Shimon!"

She didn't move.

(She didn't have to.)

Ice twisted out from the ground in sharp spear-like shafts at her loud proclamation; had we not moved to dodge immediately, there was no doubt that we would've been skewered through on the spot. There was no faltering, no hesitation, no mercy. The multitude of ice twisted midair, looping back to create a cage –and I narrowed my eyes, slipping a trickle of Lightning flames through my body to enhance my speed, barely slipping out of the deathtrap through the skin of my teeth as the ice rained down.

_That… was way too close for comfort just now._

I shifted subtly, discreetly pulling down the sleeve of my black jacket to hide the new cut I sported along my arm as I slid to a stop behind Takeshi. The Rain gave me a thoroughly unimpressed look for that –which was totally unnecessary, in my humble opinion. He didn't look to be too bad off from the ice assault, which I was grateful for, although he was looking a little ragged around the edges.

I didn't bother commenting on his newfound scruffiness; there was a time and place for these sorts of things.

"Together?" I offered instead in a gesture towards the ice-woman, carefully trying to maneuver Lambo onto my back in a position that wouldn't hinder me in battle. Inwardly, I grimaced as I braced myself for a new onslaught of pain from the motion –a pain that never came. The lack of pain then, as well as the sudden disappearance of the young Lightning's weight from my back came as a surprise, but when I glanced up it was only to see Takeshi carrying Lambo himself in a piggyback position.

(We couldn't put Lambo away from the battlefield somewhere safe; nowhere was safe, not if that woman –Suzuki– could manipulate ice so freely from the terrain like that.

… The ground beneath our feet was markedly more cracked, dry than it had previously been. Most likely this woman had mastered some sort of technique to draw moisture from her surroundings to create ice?)

Takeshi's gaze met mine, and he smiled. Not a carefree one, not careless, but one of reassurance and quiet confidence, of unshakeable will and the relentless heart of rain.

"Together," he nodded.

We drew our swords.

"How foolish." The woman's voice was flinty, freezing. Bitter hoarfrost born from the darkness of winter, harsh and cutting. "Vongola's days are _over._ Your struggle is useless. Deny it however you want, but make no mistake –today, before the sun sets… Vongola will fall."

My hand tightened on the hilt of my straight-edged sword.

The confidence with which she spoke of this –it was both incredibly dismissive and downright offensive, and had it been Hayato standing here before her there was no doubt in my mind that he would've let out a roar of rage and charged her directly. It was a good thing, then, that it was Takeshi and I poised to battle before her now, because Takeshi wasn't one to be recklessly controlled by anger, and I had my own fair share of experiences dealing with verbal tactics in goading the enemy to lose their composure.

That being said, it didn't make my blood boil any less from the woman's attitude. But instead of letting it overwhelm, grow into an unstoppable tidal wave, I reined it in. Sharpened it. Edge of steel, and sharper still.

(What is _Vongola?_ Only a word. A name for the strongest mafia famiglia of Italy. But Vongola belongs to Tsuna, and Tsuna –Tsuna and the others, _family_– they mean everything, everything to me.)

"… Y'know," I remarked dryly, eyeing the woman who drew her own weapon of ice from the ground. "We've been hearing death threats and things along the lines of what you said just now _all the time_ ever since getting dumped here by the bazooka, but funny thing is –we're still standing here."

_You cannot intimidate us with fear, cannot cow us into submission. We will not fall._

Suzuki smiled thinly.

"That can be rectified," she said simply, and Takeshi and I abruptly launched ourselves into motion in a synchronized moment of complete agreement.

(This woman –she was dangerous. There was no doubt in my mind about that fact, and the very aura she radiated marked her clearly as one of the pillars upholding the Shimon Famiglia. But see, for all that she cloaked herself in the dread chill of winter, for all that she marked herself under brutal ruthlessness–

See–

See, even with the injuries I carried on this body of mine, even with Lambo to shield and protect as we fought, despite all the numerous odds stacked against us here on the Shimon Island… this woman, Suzuki's strange ability to manipulate ice wasn't something that could topple us here. It wasn't enough, nowhere _near_ enough.

No winter is everlasting; moreover, ice _shatters._)

An expression of startled surprise unfurled across the unflappable woman's face when I carved through the ice shield she raised in front of herself, Takeshi's katana whistling through the air in a clean arc cleaving down upon her.

"You've got another thing coming to you if you think we're going down so easily, _Suzuki Adelheid._"

And the world was fractured into jagged splinters of ice.

* * *

.

_The world shook._

_Or rather, to be precise, it was the island itself that shook. Regardless, the reverberating shockwaves from the shaking reached them even this high up in the air, and considering the distance…_

_Tsuna gritted his teeth, ducking under a sweeping slash from the assassin in front of him, before retaliating with his own blow. Sky flames swirled around his fists in a haze of amber-orange light, a mere blur in the air in the scant few seconds prior to connecting directly with the other man, a hit landing solidly onto the torso._

"_Juudaime!"_

_Tsuna was already spinning as the warning left Gokudera's mouth, kicking out in a move based purely on instinct alone. There was a low grunt from the other assassin sneaking up on him, a young man who managed to block the kick –before being hurriedly forced back by a subsequent blast of writhing Storm flames seething with indignation and anger. _

_Gokudera's face was set in a firm scowl as he stepped up to Tsuna's side._

"_Bastards," he spat out. Tsuna absently noted that there was something a bit too dark, a bit too bitter in his Storm Guardian's voice, but now wasn't the time to confront him about it._

_The Cloud box animal –that strange giant red panda that had crushed their helicopter and was responsible for landing them in this situation– drifted back to one of the assassins, a young freckled woman with sleepy eyes contrary to her profession. She hefted a giant war hammer onto her shoulder, yawning._

_(As if this was all nothing to her, as if fighting, killing, was absolutely nothing–)_

"_Y'know," she drawled, "I find it interesting that a bunch of kids like you would choose to impersonate top-tier members of the Vongola Decimo's famiglia like this, uncanny physical resemblances or not. It's rather… amusing."_

… _What?_

"_Impersonate?" The level of offense taken in Gokudera's voice could not be put into words. There was no word that would be able to do it justice. "The fuck do you mean 'impersonate,' you crazy–"_

"_Mm… that reaction seems about right, but honestly, we're not _stupid._ I've worked with Gokudera Hayato before, kid; aside from being much stronger with those box weapons you've got in your hands, he's got at least a decade of age on top of you. Shrimp."_

_Tsuna didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Instead, he buried his face into his hands –although, the assassin's words were strange. From the way she was speaking–_

"_Say, I know for a fact that none of Vongola Decimo's inner circle has gotten hitched yet, but… you guys wouldn't happen to be bloodthirsty illegitimate children out for revenge, would you? I mean, the whole age-thing is probably a little off, but–"_

_Hibari's expression darkened, and Tsuna realized that if the assassin kept going on like this, _someone_ was going to–_

"_Catherine, enough."_

"_What?" The woman tilted her head to look at one of her partners. "I'm just being honest here. Isn't honesty a good thing? Or is even that not allowed anymore?"_

"_We're not imposters," Tsuna finally found his voice again. "You're mistaken. We–"_

"'_Not imposters?'" The woman arched an eyebrow, not even bothering to hide the thoroughly unimpressed tone in her voice. "Right. We're not _idiots,_ boy. What are you if not imposters? Time-traveling versions of Vongola Decimo and his Guardians from a decade in the past?"_

… _Well, she could've gone about phrasing her skepticism in another way…_

.

* * *

"Hey, didn't we already come by this way earlier?"

I ducked under a razor-edged swirl of ice and drove my sword directly into the Suzuki woman's chest, gouging a hole into her torso –and leaped back to avoid the explosion of ice-darts as her form rippled and became a chunk of ice carved in a vaguely humanoid shape, ignoring the slight twinge of pain in my back from the movement. Finding out that these ice-clones she made of herself could blow up upon destruction had been a nasty, nasty discovery made the hard way.

"Yeah, we did," I answered shortly, hooking a foot around Takeshi's leg and nudging him into leaning to the right. The ice spear that was launched at us from practically the middle of nowhere missed by a fair few centimeters, which startled Lambo into screaming something about rockets. Rockets and grenades and grapes. "Guess this is just her method of playing hide-and-seek with us."

I was seriously beginning to doubt that Suzuki had even been here in person in the first place; everything we had destroyed so far while rampaging around this thrice-damned forest were her ice clones, including the original one that had spoken to us in the beginning. But aside from Suzuki's impressive mastery over her ice-based abilities, there was another greater point of concern–

"Tsubaki, left!"

"On it, Takeshi."

I stabbed my sword towards the left, where the air shimmered –and the image of trees melted away to reveal Suzuki standing there again, cold and proud. It took a bit more fancy maneuvering before we managed to take down the clone this time, but that didn't stop the small frown from spreading over my lips.

Because it was strange.

The areas in the forest clearing where different trees would suddenly change positions or fade to reveal Suzuki-clones ready for attack –it might, _might_ simply be the result of her manipulations over ice, over water. Using lighting and reflections to create mirages, visual entrapments–

But there was something… _off_ about it, for lack of a better term to describe the growing feeling of wrongness. Takeshi felt it, too. If only we had Chrome here with us, a Mist user to check things for us –but Chrome was with Ryohei right now, while we were on our own.

(Was this why we had been separated earlier, then?)

We couldn't keep this up forever. Even though we worked well in tandem, and had already destroyed a fair number of clones, we were going to tire ourselves out at this rate and end up easy pickings for the Shimon. On the other hand, there wasn't exactly very much we could do about our current situation, considering how we were being continuously attacked by wave after wave of Suzuki-clones and ice spears spontaneously jutting out from the ground.

Hopefully Tsuna and the others were having better luck with their opponents than us at the moment.

If we wanted to change our current situation, turn the tides –we had to do something to break this pattern before it was too late and we ended up unable to do anything at all.

(It was strange, though. If Suzuki could make an unlimited number of ice clones, why even bother with this trap in the first place instead of directly overwhelming us with superior numbers? Why bother with this game of cat-and-mouse, of trying to tire us out? It was almost as if they weren't taking this seriously –

No, those weren't quite the right words to use in this situation, not quite fitting.

It was… as if they didn't intend on killing. As if they didn't intend on killing us, like they had implied they would do. That would explain why we were being slowly worn down like this –an intention to capture, to take prisoners. But if the Shimon's goal was to tear apart the foundations of Vongola, why bother? Why bother doing this instead of killing directly?)

In the end, neither Takeshi nor I managed to do really do anything.

It was Lambo.

Admittedly… Takeshi and I might've been making some small talk. Random snippets of conversation about what we'd do once we returned to the past, like eating sushi and hanging out with Tsuna –and something must've struck a chord with Lambo right around when we mentioned Nana and her cooking ("You can cook, Tsubaki?" "Yeah, I used to be really bad at cooking before I learned from Nana when–").

One moment, ice shards had been flying all over the place as per normal for a freshly-destroyed Suzuki-clone, and then–

Lightning flames.

Lightning flames _flooded_ the entire clearing –I could only spare a brief moment of thanks that Takeshi and I were excluded from being targets, however subconsciously that decision might've been made– but the torrent of crackling green flames, so much more potent than my own were and would ever be, lashed out and _incinerated_ everything within our immediate radius.

_Everything._

"_THE GREAT LAMBO WANTS TO GO HOME!"_

… Well… there were stranger choices to choose from in regards to deciding on a suitable war cry, but who was I to criticize? Certainly not if it managed to get rid of the swarm of ice clones converging on us in one fell swoop.

Ice clones… as well as a good chunk of the forest.

We could mark that down as necessary casualties. It would be part of the Shimon's expenses if they ever wanted to fix this part of their pretty little forest, anyways.

"Y'think Lambo got all of them?" I coughed, waving away the lingering smoke from Lambo's destructive outburst of Lightning flames. Takeshi was too busing coughing as well to answer, but from the distinct lack of Suzuki-clones jumping us out of the blue, I was going to take the answer to be a 'yes.' "… Well. That was fun."

The _not_ finishing that statement went unsaid between us, but loudly heard anyways–

"I'm glad you enjoyed that."

…

What.

The voice –it was _Chrome._

_How in the world–?_

Takeshi and I spun around at nearly the exact same time, only to be met with a burst of Mist flames. Ordinarily, we would've managed to bring out our own flames and break free of the Mist trap –but there was a certain level of fatigue from battling ice clones for so long, and the entire situation caught us completely off-guard.

Chrome.

Chrome was here. Which. Just. What?

Hadn't she been with Ryohei when we were separated from each other earlier? Why was she here now? And, our most immediate, pressing concern at the moment –_why was she attacking us?_

"Is that you, Chrome?" Takeshi's voice was horribly, horribly confused, which matched my thoughts completely. But it did paint a startling, insidious picture–

(Our battle just now. Illusions hiding the forest, masking Suzuki's presence, mirages that we had been all-too-quick in dismissing as a trick of Suzuki's water-ice. If Chrome had been here all along, why hadn't she helped us? Why hadn't she been part of the battle?

Unless… unless, she _was_ part of the battle, except she had been the one–)

Iron Mist chains snaked over our hands and feet, binding us tightly and weighing us down, but the thought of resistance never once crossed my mind as I stared at her, too stunned by her sudden appearance and what her very presence here in this context implied.

"… Chrome?" My voice was small, wavering. The back of my throat tightened, something inside _stung,_ and–

And I noticed it. The peculiar way she snapped her fingers and curled wispy Mist flames through the air, so unlike the way she usually held out her trident, reaching towards her connection with Mukuro. The way she stood taller, back straight, in a proud line that contrasted sharply against the slight inward curl she found comfort in, a habit we still had yet to break her out of. The hazed gleam in her eyes, instead of crystal clarity; which was the biggest tip-off of things gone wrong and _how could we not have noticed this as the first sign of warning?_

She smiled warmly, opened her mouth, and my blood ran cold, innocent as her words were.

"Hello, Yamamoto Takeshi, Bovino Lambo… Tsubaki."

Whoever was speaking to us –it wasn't in Chrome's voice anymore. It was… a voice that was distinctly richer, deeper. Something akin to male voice spoken in female tones, which made it all the more disconcerting to hear.

More importantly–

_It's not her. It's definitely not her. It's not Chrome. _

_This isn't Chrome._

* * *

.

…

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Apologies for the long delay in posting this chapter.

College life has been really, really hectic for us lately, so apologies for the late update. The biggest difficulty we ran into during the process of writing this chapter was the simple fact that we're in different schools now, and it's been a lot more inconvenient to bounce ideas off each other –nevertheless, thank you all for your patience in waiting for this update. Zuiyun was actually super on top of things in finishing stuff apportioned to Zuiyun in this chapter while I… got sidetracked by RL… and then midterms…

…

(Cries)(Midterms)(I have more midterms next week)(#How is this my life)

… Anyways. If you happen to be new readers, well, thanks for reading and hope you'll be supportive of this story as we continue to work on it! Unfortunately, we still can't make any promises as to when the next chapter will be posted, but rest assured we will do our best. Even if RL will be prioritized before writing fanfiction...

More Shimon/Daemon Spade/Assassins' Guild stuff to come in the next chapter. :D Stay tuned for that~

Any thoughts on Enma and his intentions towards Vongola? ;3

_pluck down the stars from heaven_ was updated last week, so if you've been keeping an eye out for that, please go ahead and check it out. :3

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.

There is a small poll up on my profile for new stories/more updates by fandom, so please head over and submit a vote for that~

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**QUESTION(1): Last chance to submit an OC. **This is the FINAL chance to submit an OC before submissions are closed with the next update! … Actually, I'm pretty sure we already have more than enough OCs to work with by this point, but still feel free to submit a character if you'd like.

**QUESTION(2):** Unrelated to _Onwards Till Dawn,_ but… since most of my midterms will be in October, this means I'll have more free time from testing in November before I have to start worrying about finals in December. In consideration of this, I'm thinking of writing something here on fanfiction as a sort of personal **NaNoWriMo** challenge to myself –so, any thoughts on that? I know I have several stories already in-progress, but setting an actual goal by when to finish a multi-chaptered fic seems like an interesting challenge.

Obviously, it's not going to be all that long considering I'll only have a month to write it in, but still.

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**.**

**DUE TO RECENT TIME CONSTRAINTS, 10-REVIEWER-BONUS WILL BE TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED. I WILL POST ANOTHER NOTICE WHEN WE START UP THE SYSTEM AGAIN.**

**THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AND UNDERSTANDING!**

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Please leave a review with your thoughts on this chapter. :D

Till next time

-XxZuiliu


	36. 03: 6 A New Ally?

_Thump, thump, thump._

_The young man perched upon the edge of the high table swung his legs back and forth to a steady, unwavering rhythm that none but he himself could hear, a faint smile on his lips as he softly tilted his head to the side. It was a small, slight movement, which nonetheless allowed for the phone in his hand to slip against his ear, nearly dropping to the ground for a single breathless moment, but nimble fingers tightened around it just in time, and the smile on his lips widened._

_One heartbeat, two heartbeats. _

_Thump, thump, thump._

…

_Static._

_Static noise, and then the sound of a recipient picking up the call. _

_Strangely enough, the recipient didn't say anything upon connecting to the line. There were no greetings, no polite inquiries for the identity of the caller, nor even a brief self-introduction to begin the conversation. The young man sitting on the tabletop does not appear to think this strange, however. He does not appear to mind the cold silence in the least. _

_Instead, he smiles._

"_Hi there, Kawahira," the young man says._

_There was no response. _

_The young man laughed again, this time abruptly leaping to his feet, abandoning his perch on the edge of the table. _

"_Ahaha, what's with the long silence?" He spun in dizzying circles, laughing. "Shouldn't you be happy to hear from me, Ka-wa-hi-ra?"_

_This time, the name leaving his lips is stretched out into a long note that's half-mocking, half-teasing, mixed with the sweet, poignant edge of something that tastes like a cross between bitter hatred and black resentment. Though the young man is still smiling, there is something decidedly darker about his expression now, as shadows flicker across his eyes._

"_You're going to lose this game," he tells his silent listener matter-of-factly. "You lose. Vongola will fall to Shimon." _

_Still no response. The young man puffed out his cheeks._

"_You took a gamble, and lost," he says into the phone, a statement that is pure fact and nothing else. "It was never my brother that you should've focused on. I should be glad that Byakuran finally went and did _something _useful in occupying your attentions."_

_The silence on the other end stretched on._

"_Goddamnit, Kawahira, are you mute?!" The young man's expression faded into one of irritation, a scowl. "Geez. I thought you'd have some sort of reaction, you giant block of ice… you're even worse than your brother, and that's really saying something here."_

"… _Gloating before victory has been decided is unlike you, Liam."_

"_Ahaha, finally deigning to grace me with the sound of your voice now? I feel so honored." Dark eyes narrowed cruelly. "And you're wrong, Kawahira. It's _over. _As soon as Enma manages to gather the Decimo and his little troupe here, it will be _over. _I may not be able to open the Gate of Ends on my own, but once they die and I join hands with my sister–"_

"_I believe you will be surprised on that. Your sister–"_

_A harsh laugh tore itself from the young man's throat. "All smoke and mirrors, my dear old friend. Those barriers and limitations you and that accursed brother of yours planted into her mind, sealing her memories and her powers –how are you so sure that they will definitely hold, hmm? My sister can be very vindictive when the time calls for it. Once she recovers, we will–"_

"_Want to make a bet?"_

"… _What?"_

"_You claim that I took a gamble and lost. That may be so. But your plan –it will never come to fruition. I may not have Sephira's eyes, but even that is clear to see for me." _

"… _Is that so?" Dark eyes narrow dangerously, and the young man's lips thin into a tight smile. "You're on, Kawahira. It's high time this world learns the price of messing with our kind. We are not to be trifled with lightly. This world that you and your brother have poured your hearts and souls into… I will make you _watch it burn_, just like–"_

…

…

…

_Kawahira set down his phone and shook his head._

"_Fools, each and every one of them."_

_(But contrary to his cold words and harsh assessment, there was something of a sad smile drifting at the edge of his lips and his world-weary sigh.)_

.

* * *

"… Chrome…"

This wasn't Chrome.

It _was _her in body, but not in spirit. This was some sort of possession –done using Mist flames, perhaps? Entirely possible, and more than likely, but the thought of a Mist from the Shimon taking over Chrome's body like this…

"Who are you?" My voice was cold.

(The flames holding us down weren't illusions –even interlaced with something else, these were still _Chrome's flames,_ still had the undeniable aura and signature of the Mist that Chrome herself held. It wasn't just a clever disguise or illusion of Chrome that we were seeing in front of us right now. This was Chrome. _This was really Chrome, possessed and held hostage by a hostile unknown._

I wanted to scream.)

"You really don't recognize me anymore, m'dear?"

Something in my heart blazed and _burned _at the nonchalant response my inquiry received_,_ and suddenly, the pain in my back didn't seem quite so severe and paralyzing anymore.

The next words that came out of my mouth were not, 'Let her go.'

(Because there was no way Chrome went down without a fight, and if someone had gone to the trouble of isolating and taking down Chrome, was there really any way they would release her just based on a spur-of-the-moment demand like that made by their enemies, the allies of the one taken hostage?)

I didn't spit in his face and say, 'You _bastard.'_

(Because clearly that fact was already evident enough, and there was no sense in riling up our opponent using insults. As much as insults could be used during battle to goad one into making careless mistakes to take advantage of, there were also other times when silence was preferable. Chrome's safety was in his hands, after all, galling and worrying as it was.)

"What do you want?" I asked simply instead, and Chrome –the person currently manipulating Chrome's body– smiled.

"Sharp as ever, Tsubaki." Slow, mocking claps. Beside me, Takeshi narrowed his eyes. "I was wondering if you would catch on. As for what I want…"

A slight pause, as if for dramatic effect._ "I want to help you."_

Silence.

"… Are you sure you're not trying to say that the other way around?" I deadpanned, and the puppeteer laughed.

"Quite the contrary, sister dearest, I really do have your best interests at heart. This," Chrome's hand gestured towards her own body, "Is just a precaution on my part. The Shimon Don is a rather careful man, so I am shielding our current conversation from him –but if I don't strike out against any of the Vongola children at all, then he's just going to be suspicious and mean towards me again, and we can't have that now, can we?"

… Despite his words, there was nothing in me that felt even remotely inclined to trust the man himself, much less what he was currently saying to us right now_._

"I sent Daemon –pardon me, Julie Kato– out earlier, so there won't be any other Mists here on the island interfering with us. But, well, I suppose that as a sign of goodwill now…"

The Mist chains holding us disappeared into thin air right as Chrome suddenly dropped to the ground, unconscious. It was only instinct to dart over to where she was and ensure her safety, to check to see if she was alright. A steady stream of Mist flames –darker than Chrome's own, and with a willful edge tingling within it– curled outwards from her body, and from there, it coalesced into the form of a young man in the middle of the clearing.

I didn't recognize him.

I _knew_ I didn't recognize him. This cordial, smiling face –it was not one that I had any strong impressions of. I didn't remember any particular battles or events that I could accurately associate it with, and I _knew_ that this was not someone I had encountered through the Assassins' Guild or through Vongola, or through _anything._ This man was nothing but a stranger to me.

I didn't recognize him.

_I didn't recognize him_, but somehow there was still an automatic strand of _familiarity_ that rose within me as soon as I saw him, and–

_No._

_No, he's a Mist. Mist flames._

Yes, that would make sense. Mist flames. Using Mist flames to influence emotions, to evoke feelings of kinship, the better to gain trust…

I forcibly prevented myself from clenching my fists, falling back on the façade of a liar that I had built up again and again and again.

What was he planning? Why go to the troubles of capturing Chrome, then so simply releasing her like this? It didn't make sense. There was the possibility that this was just a show of strength, pure intimidation to coerce us into cooperating with him… and there was also the possibility of him speaking the truth in putting up an act for the Shimon Boss, though I wasn't very optimistic about the chances of the latter. If he could use Mist flames to shield our conversation like he claimed, why didn't he use Mist flames to act out everything else as well, instead of attacking us using Chrome like this?

What kind of trap was he trying to ensnare us in?

And… why even bother going along and doing this, extending a hand to Vongola when he himself was formally aligned with the Shimon? Did he have some sort of second agenda regarding them? Even so, it was unlikely that he actually wanted to _help_ us –use us, more like, but for what?

I frowned.

Dark eyes, pale skin, black-russet hair that gleamed under sunlight. There was a small smile curled around his lips and the sort of self-confidence in his frame that came through strength and experience.

Such a character…

"Call me Liam," he inclined his head in greeting, and the smile over his lips widened. "As a sign of good faith, I will help you bring down the Shimon. What do you say?"

_Be careful._

_He's a Mist._

_Deception… is in his very nature._

.

* * *

_A battle between Mists was a battle of deception. It was not so much a battle of strength as it was a battle of wits and of wills, so there was no mistaking the undercurrent of deception beneath it all, of illusions layering one on top of another and then becoming undone, only to find a tenfold layer springing up from nowhere._

"… _I think I'm getting sick."_

_Irie Shouichi's face was deathly pale, tinged with a slight edge of sickly green. He was most definitely not a fighter –and the sheer amount of energy that was being thrown around like child's play here was more than a little nauseating to his senses. These were oure Mist flames, flames that preyed on the mind in addition to the body._

"_No you're not." _

_Spanner's response was quick, abrupt, and the blond mechanic immediately scooted further from Shouichi from where they had landed in a crumpled heap in the corner from when the impromptu battle had started. Most likely to avoid vomit splatters if it turned out that Shouichi was not capable of keeping his nausea under the wraps, which was… admittedly, a valid concern._

_Another dizzying round of Mist flames battled back and forth, and Shouichi buried his head in his arms again with a groan that spoke of nothing but sheer suffering._

_Although, this was no time for self-pity._

"_Get up." An indigo flash, and Mukuro's form appeared in front of the two technicians. The Mist harshly yanked them up to their feet in a rough move that sent the two sprawling head over heels towards the door. "The two of you are only going to get in the way if you stay here any longer."_

_Even as his stomach rebelled against him even more from being _tossed across the room by Mist flames_, Shouichi could still feel the sharp sting of panic and worry twisting up his chest from Mukuro's words and actions._

_Because if Mukuro was sending them away from the battlefield like this –it meant that things were escalating, getting _dangerous,_ that he could no longer ensure their safety if they stayed with him. And if things were getting so dangerous… what about Mukuro himself, then?_

_He was still recovering from all those years spent in Vendicare! The only reason why he had even been able to join the final battle against… against Byakuran in the first place was because he had forcibly used Mist flames and certain dangerous medications to wrestle his body into a condition fit for combat. He was supposed to be _resting_ now in order to recover from all the damage that had been dealt to his body! Resting and healing, not running headlong into a high-paced battle with another Mist user!_

_A Mist user who was… absurdly strong._

…

… _Was it… Shimon?_

_Well, who else would be trying to attack Vongola at this moment? Who else besides the Shimon, who had all but declared war on Vongola as soon as the conflict with the Millefiore had ended?_

_Shouichi paled even further as his mind linked the dots together._

_Mukuro was in trouble._

_(And so were they. So was everyone here.)_

"_This is bad," Spanner muttered beneath his breath. "Getting attacked at a moment right when all our strongest fighters have left… Mukuro is probably only planning to buy some time for us to run away before he himself makes a run for it, too. It would be best for us to pick up the pace and evacuate the base as soon as possible."_

_Shouichi made a response that sounded something between the strange mix of a wheeze and a cough, but Spanner took that as a sign of agreement anyways and really did pick up the pace in running faster down the corridor. Not that Shouichi protested against it –if he even still had any strength in him left to protest this increase in speed, in addition to running._

…

… _Mukuro, on the other hand, found himself in a little bit of a dilemma as well, accurate to Shouichi's , an opponent of this caliber –wouldn't be an issue. Stronger than average, yes, and with several interesting tricks up his sleeves, but this Mist was not as strong as Mukuro himself._

_The issue lay within the fact that Mukuro was someone who should be on total bed rest right now instead of fighting._

_His body was… not in a good condition. The years in Vendicare had not been kind to him, and neither had been directly running off to fight Byakuran right after escaping been a particularly smart choice to make in regards to personal health. But there hadn't exactly been any other choice for him back then, and neither was there any other choice open to him right now. This opponent –he was not as strong as Mukuro, but he was strong, and since Mukuro himself was in a weakened state…_

_No, things weren't looking so good. It would be best to end this as soon as possible, then, create another opportunity to–_

"_Going somewhere?"_

"_Kufufu."_

"_Laugh all you'd like, the chance of finding a Mist as strong as you in such a weakened state –I am not enough of an idiot to pass up a golden chance like this, Rokudo."_

"_A Mist as weak as you," Mukuro drawled, calmly folding his arms across his chest, "Has no chance against me."_

"_Really now?" Poignant amusement. "Weak, you say… it has been a long time since anyone has dared to say anything like that to my face."_

_A curtain of Mist flames lifted around the rooms, encircling the room's only two inhabitants again and again in an ironclad cage._

"_I am called Daemon Spade," the other illusionist said simply. "And you… will become part of my power, Rokudo Mukuro."_

…

.

* * *

"How are you feeling, Chrome?"

"… Dizzy…"

"Let's rest for a moment," Takeshi suggested. "Might as well take the chance to recover while we can."

I nodded in consent, while Chrome curled up into herself, eyes scrunching closed as she began to tremble –and her Mist flames began flickering erratically.

"… Muku…ro…"

My blood ran cold.

Mukuro. Chrome was calling out for Mukuro. Did something… happen? To Mukuro?

The connection that Chrome shared with Mukuro was a rather special one. Whenever one of them was in danger, the other would automatically know, no matter the distance between them –and even in times when Chrome had learned to sustain herself using her own Mist flames to make illusory organs to keep her body operating normally, there was still this thread that linked them together. This reaction she was showing now, did she just–

The Shimon Mist standing behind us reached out a hand and sent a flicker of Mist flames into her forehead, whereupon Chrome stopped shivering and instead fell still.

"She's only asleep," the man arched an eyebrow in response to the glare I sent him, something akin to amusement dancing within his eyes. "If I wanted to see her dead, I would've done something about it a long time ago and quite understandably _not_ directly in front of you, sister of mine. Honestly, would it kill you to give me a little more trust here?"

"You haven't been giving me any signs that you're worth trusting yet. And _don't call me that._"

(Sister. Little sister. That… that was what V called me, not–)

"So demanding…" A small, breathless laugh, and the young man shook his head. "I already apologized earlier for the chains and everything, right? It's only to put up an act for the Shimon Boss, since he has every inch of this island under surveillance and I need to show him that I'm doing _something_ productive. I'm not even possessing your little friend anymore right now! Why can't you have a little more faith in me?"

Because you tried to use Mist flames to manipulate my feelings.

Because, in addition to trying to evoke feelings of trust and familiarity to yourself, you also tried to cut off what I felt for–

"I'll trust you when the Shimon are dead and we're off this island," I answered coldly instead, looking away before the influence of his Mist flames could take effect again.

"See? Demanding!" Liam laughed again, "The Shimon famiglia's inner circle is much stronger than you think, sister. It won't be easy… although you'll have me here helping you–"

"Why are you even helping us?" Takeshi cut in, and though there was nothing speaking of hostility or suspicion in his lighthearted voice, his eyes were sharp. "You're part of the Shimon, aren't you?"

"Allying with the Shimon is only a temporary means to the ends," the Mist shrugged casually. "As far as I'm concerned, they've never really considered me to be part of them, anyways, so there's not really any betrayal going on. It's just a… bargain between us. I've already completed my half of the deal, as long as they hold up their end as well, I'm not too concerned about what ends up happening to them."

Callous, cold. This was a dangerous man.

… A dangerous man who clearly had some ulterior motive for helping us, by claiming to be our ally. Right now, the Shimon famiglia held all the advantages; what did he seek to gain by looking to Vongola?

Takeshi glanced over at me –_Should we trust him?_

No. No, we shouldn't.

… But did we have any other choice? If we refused –he was a _strong_ Mist; what if he decided to possess us as well and then use us against Tsuna? If we agreed to accept him as an ally momentarily, then at least it would ensure that he wouldn't attack us in the meantime, and we could figure out what to do from there.

But first…

"Was Chrome alone when you found her?"

Liam paused. "… Are you talking about the boxing kid she was wandering around with?"

Ryohei. _Ryohei._

"Where is he?" I asked simply. "If you help us find Ryohei, then we will consider accepting your offer of becoming temporary allies against the Shimon."

"Ah-ah," he wagged his finger, smiling slowly. "Not _consider,_ Tsubaki. I'd like a promise from you a bit more concrete than that, if you will. If I find you your friend, you will help me as well when I ask for it."

I thinned my lips.

"… Help us find Ryohei first, then we'll talk. I don't make empty promises."

A gleam entered his eyes.

"Is that so? Then I suppose it's just as well that I never fail to hold up to my promises."

* * *

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…

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Author's Notes:

There might be another lag before the next chapter comes out, since more midterms and school activities are crawling up WAY TOO FAST. I will definitely still be trying to make progress with my writing, though, and I'm sure XxZuiyun will be doing the same on the other side of the country. :3 We will do our best to continue working on the next chapter and finish as soon as possible to the best of our abilities!

Also:

* * *

**ATTENTION:**

**OC SUBMISSION IS FINALLY CLOSED. **

**OC SUBMISSION IS CLOSED.**

**NO MORE SUBMISSIONS OF OCS FOR THE ASSASSINS' GUILD WILL BE ACCEPTED. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED IN OC SUBMISSIONS!**

**(Remember, even if your OC doesn't show up in this current arc, there is a later arc in which the Assassins' Guild will come into play some more, so please be patient!)**

* * *

Moving along with other announcements, now.

I am seriously considering doing something for NaNoWriMo. Even though I know I'm short on time and everything, having a clear deadline to finish a story really does appeal to me… though I suppose we'll have to wait and see how I feel when things start in November. Speaking of which, that's kind of what the poll on my profile is for. I'll be choosing a random fandom from the top 5 votes on the poll to write NaNoWriMo stuff for –given that I do go along with the plan of participating in NaNoWriMo this year. Or it might just end up being DeWriMo for me since winter break is in December and that means more time for writing!

… Man, I haven't even started the second round of midterms yet, and I'm already thinking of winter break…

Anyways.

The exploits on the Shimon Island will be continued in the next chapter. And we finally see another OC who calls Tsubaki 'sister!' Any ideas what this might suggest? (Not so subtle hinting here, haha.) And yes, I know what I'm doing with the name here. It will be explained eventually. xD

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**QUESTION(1): **Any thoughts on Liam? Liam and his 'collaboration' with Enma and the rest of the Shimon?

**QUESTION(2):** What do you guys think at this point: **Pairing or no pairing** for Tsubaki? And if yes, with who? (I'm still rooting for Gen and XxZuiyun for TsuTsu…)

**QUESTION(3):** Even though it's still going to take awhile to actually happen, we're actually starting to approach 1k reviews! :D **For the 1k-review bonus** –I know we've said beforehand that we'll be doing a 'past snippet' of Tsubaki according to the 1k-th reviewer's request as a sort of celebration, so are people still up for going along with that? Or would you guys like something else to be offered as the 1k special instead?

* * *

_Please leave a review!_ I know there are always silent readers out there, but if you see anything that needs fixing or if you have any other comments to make, it's still nice to hear from people. And motivates more writing instead of studying for midterms, of course. xD

Till next time

XxZuiliu


	37. Important AN

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**Important AN**

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Hello everyone.

So... honestly, there's several things going on right now, so I might as well just put them all into a list format. Um.

**1) _Onwards Till Dawn_ is going to be rewritten.**

Yes, there's going to be a rewrite. This was a pretty hard decision for me to make, especially since the story has been going on for over a year already and it's the first actual collaboration story I've had with a friend... but on the other hand, this kind of ties into the second point, which I guess I'll just state here:

**2) XxZuiyun is bowing out of this project.**

(... Sobs.)

Honestly speaking, though, I guess it's been coming for awhile already. Communication between us has been dropping ever since we started going to different colleges this year, and RL has been really hectic and everything for us.

(I feel like I keep mentioning the same things as reasons for slow/delayed updates and such, but it's the truth -there's always so much else to do that writing fanfiction is often shoved to the bottom of the list. It's fun to write fanfiction, but not at the expense of other important things in RL, which I am totally guilty of and understand about XxZuiyun. Hopefully you guys will understand, too? :D ... If not... feel free to throw rotten tomatoes at the computer screen until the rewritten version of OTD is posted. Or. Something.)

**3) Several revisions to OTD plotline will be made in the rewritten version.**

Since I'll be the only one working on OTD now... I'm going to go over everything we've written down for the story and do some major 'cleaning.' Also, I've been reading over the stuff we've already written, and some parts could use some major improvement and other parts seem a little plot-hole-y so I'll be trying to get rid of those parts, too.

Mostly, expect some changes to the plot. Even the plot that hasn't been revealed yet in the story. xD

I can promise you right now that _the rewritten version is **NOT** going to be basically just a cleaner copy of what's been posted already._ There _will_ be several changes. If I was just going to go and clean up grammar and tweak minor things in OTD, I wouldn't bother making an announcement about it like this.

So... yeah.

Um.

Rewritten version will likely be posted as an entirely new story. Unless people prefer having it posted here directly? **Feel free to let me know how you feel about that; I don't really mind either way.**

... And that's about it, I think.

To those of you who followed _Onwards Till Dawn_ up until this point, thank you for your kind support and hope you'll continue to read the rewritten version of it when it's up! Sorry to anyone who might have been expecting a new chapter with this update.

-XxZuiliu


	38. Rewrite AN

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**Rewrite AN**

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The rewrite for OTD is now up! The title of the new story is still _Onwards Till Dawn._ I just added "Original" to this one to differentiate between the two.

Hope you will enjoy the rewrite!

-XxZuiliu


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